Give them back. For goodness’ sake, just give them back.

Stop dithering, British Museum – give the 'Elgin Marbles' back.
Why trustees need to act now.

Article by Andrew Marr in The New Statesman, 10 Januay 2023.

And it starts with Andrew writing: 'Give them back. For goodness’ sake, just give them back.'

The point is they are not ours – they are a central part of Greek heritage. Osborne knows this. In June he told me there was “a deal to be done where we can tell both stories in Athens and in London”. When I asked if they could be moved to Greece, at least for a while, he replied “this kind of arrangement” might be suitable. The argument over their repatriation has been heating up ever since. We shouldn’t fool ourselves that when the marbles go home to Greece, they’ll regularly pop back again via Heathrow. But it doesn’t mean our museums will empty of everything not made in Shropshire or Essex. Each case is different. The Parthenon is to Greece what Stonehenge is to England; if Stonehenge was moved to Texas, we’d feel the same. Sending them home, open-heartedly and without conditions, would right an old wrong and do a lot for Britain’s shaky reputation as a reliable European partner. The museum, in short, must get on with it. Give. Them. Back.

Read the full article in The New Statesman. 

A New Statesman reader also sent a letter in response to Andrew Marr's article. The letter was published. We would like to thank John Boaler, of Calne, Wiltshire for the support too :

What’s Moore
While agreeing with Andrew Marr that the Elgin Marbles should be given back to Greece (Culture Notes, 13 January) I question the claim that had they not been accessible in London “there would have been no Henry Moore”. Moore’s work drew on many sources including medieval church carvings and modernist sculptures, and he had a lifelong fascination with the shapes and textures of pebbles and bones. Had the marbles stayed in Greece, Moore would surely still have become a great artist.

John Boaler, Calne, Wiltshire