Rishi Sunak has found himself embroiled in a fresh diplomatic spat over the Elgin Marbles after cancelling a meeting with his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at the last minute after it became apparent he planned to raise the question of their return.
During an interview with the BBC, Mr Mitsotakis compared the marbles – also known as the Parthenon Sculptures and stored at the British Museum since the early 19th century – to Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, saying Britain retaining them was akin to carving the famous Renaissance portrait in half and keeping part of it in London and the other in the Louvre.
