London, Thanasis Gavos

The revelation that now the British Museum has opened a dialogue with the British government regarding the issue of possible repatriation of exhibits, says the new UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy in an interview with Guardian.

According to the newspaper, Ms Nandy said the government was looking at repatriating valuable artefacts from British museums, already holding discussions with them, including the British Museum following an initiative by President George Osborne to approach her.

Ms. Nandy admits that there are different views on this issue, but noted that she wants the government’s approach to be the same in all cases. As he commented, “local museums are currently able to make decisions on their own, while national institutions cannot.”

The Guardian notes, however, that Prime Minister Starmer has said he has no plans to change the (1963) law, which essentially bans the permanent return of Sculptors of the Parthenon in Athens.

It is noted that the Deputy Minister of Culture Chris Bryant clarified in response to a parliamentary question that there has been no discussion at the level of the Ministers of Culture of the two countries on the issue of the Sculptures.