Rishi Sunak has ruled out changing the UK law that prohibits the return of the Parthenon marbles to Greece

British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak has ruled out changing the law that prohibits the British Museum from returning the Parthenon marbles to Greece permanently.

Sunak said there were no plans to change the legislation, which says the museum can only dispose of items from its collection in limited circumstances. However, the museum could organize a sculpture loan

Since gaining independence in 1832, Greece has repeatedly demanded the return of the sculptures – known in the UK as the elgin marbles– which the British diplomat Lord Elgin removed from the Parthenon temple in Athens at the beginning of the 19th century, when Greece was under Ottoman rule.

It is unlikely that Sunak will break with the positions of his two predecessors, both opposed to any loan of marbles to Greece.

“The UK has cared for the Elgin Marbles for generations. Our galleries and museums are funded by taxpayers because they are a great asset to this countrySunak told reporters on his plane as he traveled to the United States.

“We share its treasures with the world and people come to the uk to see them. The British Museum’s collection is protected by law and we have no intention of altering it.”

Former Minister of Economy George Osborne, President of the British Museum, worked on a new agreement with Greece according to which the sculptures could be seen both in London and Athens.

The Parthenon Project, backed by British politicians from different political parties to settle the issue, said on Sunday that the British Museum’s Parthenon collection could be returned to Greece under a long-term cultural partnership agreement.

The Elgin Marbles are one of the main attractions of the British Museum, which also displays other pieces from ancient Greece and other historical cultures, such as Egypt. Athens demands its delivery and the two parties have been talking about it for more than a year, in discreet contacts which London is now ending.

The British Minister for Culture, Michele Donelanhad already ruled out in January any possibility of sending the parthenon marblesdenying press reports.

“I’ve been very clear about this, I don’t think (the marbles) have to go back to Greece,” he told the BBC. “We don’t have to return them, and in fact they belong in the UK, where we’ve been looking after them for a long time,” he added.

Donelan told the radio the BBC that an agreement allegedly brokered by British Museum President George Osborne did not concern the permanent return to Greece of the ancient sculptures.

It was “not his intention”, Donelan said, referring to Osborne, a former finance minister under former Prime Minister David Cameron.

such a gesture “I would open a Pandora’s box” and “it would open the door to questioning all the content of our museums,” he said.

(With information from EP, AFP and Reuters)

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