Page 24 of the Times, Letters to the Editor, 13 May 2025, a BCRPM letter:
Dear Sir
Re: Nicholas Cullinan’s interview in The Times on Saturday.
Along with the majority of the British public (according to a recent survey), we hold that the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum are part of a unique work of international significance and should be reunited with those remaining in Athens. There they are displayed in full view of the building for which they were originally carved. It was dismaying to read the implications of the Director’s description of the sculptures as “…talismanic objects of this museum.” It has been proved that no official permission was granted to Elgin to remove the sculptures, all prized with enormous violence from the face of the temple. These stolen goods were then shipped to the UK for decorating Elgin’s own home. A talisman is something that brings good luck. How can stolen goods bring good fortune to any institution?[ The Times did not print these two lines]
Simply in terms of diplomacy, we believe it would be a tragic error to position these disputed sculptures at the centre of the “reimagining” of the Museum. This re-imagining should surely be excited rather by the prospect of showing off wonderful objects never seen before in the UK, promised by Greece once returned. Greece is one of our strongest allies and it is surely not the time to insult that friendship.
We hope that talks vis a vis some mutually constructive arrangement continue and will have a positive outcome for both countries.
Yours sincerely,
Victoria Hislop FRSL, Prof Paul Cartledge, Janet Suzman DBE (British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles).
On Saturday, the Times Magazine's five page interview with Dr Cullinan, the director of the British Museum was an enlightening read. BCRPM met with Dr Cullinan earlier this year and we came away looking forward to a new era at the British Museum, not least as the museum prepares to reimagine its spaces.
Meanwhile talks between Greece and the BM continue because the devil is in the detail. Plus 12 days ago, Sir Chris Bryant, the Minister for Creative Industries, Art and Tourism reminded Alberto Costa and others in a Westminster Hall debate that without an amendment to the Museum Act, all the BM can do is lend the sculptures to Greece for a stated period and ensure their return.
"I have read articles where people in Greece say that they are not interested in a loan anyway, because a loan implies that the marbles still belong to the British Museum rather than to Greece. The important point that I am trying to clarify—because I think there has been some misunderstanding—is that under existing law, it would be impossible for there to be a permanent or indefinite loan. The trustees would be required, in seeking a licence to export, to show that they were absolutely certain that the items were returning. I do not think that would be easy if they had arranged a permanent or indefinite loan—the point being that we would have to change the law. The immediate question that the hon. Member may ask is whether we are intending to change the law. We have no intention to change the law.
There are provisions in the 1963 Act for temporary loans, and my understanding is that the chairman of the British Museum has been in some discussions. We have not been party to those discussions, but he has briefly outlined some of the issues that have arisen, both to me and to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. I am not aware of any further developments in that area in recent months. "
