LONDON — Britain isn’t losing its marbles — yet.
The U.K.’s new government insists there’ll be no change in position on the ownership of the Parthenon sculptures this week as Greece’s prime minister comes to town.
The marble sculptures were removed from Athens by diplomat and art aficionado Lord Elgin in the 19th century. They’ve been housed in the British Museum since then, despite high-profile campaigning for their return to Greece, including by PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Mitsotakis arrives in London Tuesday amid reports that members of his government have held, per Sky News, “private meetings” with top brass at the museum, which has been involved in long-running talks over a potential loan arrangement of the treasures.
Any change in their status — which led to a furious row between the Greek and then- Conservative U.K. government last year — would need to involve the British government. The 1963 British Museum act currently prevents the removal of objects from its collection.
During last year’s Greek dust-up with the Tories, Keir Starmer — now prime minister but at the time leader of the opposition — made a point of sitting down with Mitsotakis after Tory leader Rishi Sunak cancelled a meeting with him in a row over the marbles.
But a British government spokesperson said Monday: “We have no plans to change existing government policy on restitution. Further decisions relating to the care and management of a museum’s collections, including loaning objects, are a matter for the Trustees of the museum.”
Ahead of Mitsotakis’ visit, Starmer’s office said the issue would not be on the prime minister’s agenda when the two leaders sit down Tuesday. Instead, Starmer will raise issues including continued support for Ukraine and a cease-fire in Gaza, No. 10 said.
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