Elgin Marbles Row: Transport Secretary Defends Rishi Sunak Over Greek Prime Minister ‘Snub’
Transport Secretary Mark Harper defended Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s abrupt cancellation of a planned meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after a diplomatic row opened up on whether Britain should return the ancient Greek Elgin Marbles sculptures.
Sky News journalist Kay Burley pressed Harper on whether Sunak had “snubbed” Mitsotakis.
“Look, the Prime Minister’s made our position on the Elgin Marbles very clear,” Harper said. “They’re part of the British museum’s collection and we think they should remain there. The Prime Minister wasn’t able to meet the Greek Prime Minister. He was offered a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister which proved not to be possible for him to take up, so I don’t think I’d characterise it the way you have.”
Still, Burley pushed again for an answer: “Okay, so no one’s meeting with him,
meaning he’s incredibly important. Greece is incredibly important to the UK, not least when it comes to curbing illegal migration. Surely it’s not appropriate to snub him in this very public way.”
Harper responded: “All of our international partners are very important, and as I said the deputy prime minister offered to meet with him today.”
The sculptures are at the heart of one of the longest running cultural disputes in Europe. Greece insists on their repatriation, arguing that they were unlawfully removed during the period of Ottoman Empire’s rule over Greece and should be brought back for exhibition in Athens. However, the British maintain that they legally acquired the statues from the Ottomans before Greece achieved independence and that returning them would establish a precedent for museums worldwide.
The latest chapter in the controversy was raised after Mitsotakis’ gave a BBC interview where he argued for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece, comparing their split between London and Athens to severing the Mona Lisa. He emphasised the importance of dialogue in matters of justice, expressing his eagerness to discuss global issues like the crises in Gaza and Ukraine, the climate emergency, and migration, along with the sculptures.
According to Sky News, the Greek government has been left “baffled, surprised and not a little bit annoyed” at the cancellation.
Meanwhile, Labour Leader Keir Starmer stepped in to meet with Mitsotakis, announcing that his party was open to a loan arrangement for the marbles as a legal workaround to the British Museum Act of 1963, barring removal of collection pieces.
