The Daily Mail also reported on George Clooney's continued support for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. 

Published on 18 May, Gavin Madeley wrote this article for the Scottish Daily Mail and you can read the full article by following the link here.

Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM) emailed Gavin Medley as she was puzzled by the naivete of some of the statements in the article. The statements made i the Daily Mail article are in italics and Janet's comments are in bold.

'The fifth-century-BC statues have been housed in the British Museum since 1817 after they were removed from the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis in Athens by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, the then Ottoman ambassador.

In an online statement, the trustees of the British Museum say that Elgin acted with the full knowledge and permission of the legal authorities of the day in both Athens and London.'

Where do the Trustees go for their historical ‘facts’ to issue statements like this? The least they should do is quote their sources. It is not a true statement and the Trustees ought to mug up on the facts. 

‘The sculptures on display in London convey huge public benefit as part of the museum’s worldwide collection,’ they add. '

Undoubtedly they do. But one can’t help asking which public of what country do they refer to? 

The Hellenic Republic is entirely excluded from this benefit.

'The statement reiterates that the trustees have never been asked for a loan of the Parthenon sculptures by Greece, ‘only for the permanent removal of all of the sculptures in its care to Athens’.'

A disingenuous way of saying that the Greeks are asking for the return of what is rightfully theirs. And certainly NOT ‘all the sculptures in its care’ - just those displayed in the Duveen Galleries.