UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week again rejected Greece’s standing demand for a to return of the Parthenon Marbles, arguing that the 2,500-year-old friezes are “legally owned by the British Museum’s trustees.”
“I understand the strong feelings of the Greek people – and indeed Prime Minister (Kyriakos) Mitsotakis – on the issue,” Johnson said, in his first public statement on the issue since becoming prime minister, in an interview with the Athens daily “Ta Nea”.
“However, the UK government has a long-standing position on the sculptures, which is that they were legally acquired by Lord Elgin, under the appropriate laws of the time and have been legally owned by the British Museum’s trustees since their acquisition,” he opined.
