To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will place in the Library of the House correspondence between the Department and the British Museum on the Parthenon Sculptures in the last two years.
Answered on
26 January 2023
The Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum are legally owned by the Trustees of the British Museum, which is operationally independent of Government. Decisions relating to the care and management of the museum's collections are a matter for the Trustees of the British Museum.
The British Museum is prohibited by law from deaccessioning items from its collection, and we have no plans to change the law.
The only discussions the Department has had on the matter of the Parthenon Sculptures occur within the formal meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property at UNESCO – the last one being attended by Government officials in May 2022.
The Department does not hold discussions on this matter with external parties, including with John Lefas, and consequently does not have additional material to place in the Library of the House.