No 10 rules out law change for return of Parthenon marbles

A section of the Parthenon marbles in London's British Museum. They were taken from Greece in the early 19th century. Photograph: Matthew Fearn/PA

Rishi Sunak has ruled out changing a law that could prevent the British Museum from handing the Parthenon marbles back to Greece, after it emerged that trustees have held secret talks with the Greek prime minister about the future of the artefacts.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said there were no plans to amend legislation under which a museum can dispose of objects within its collection only in very limited circumstances. However, it could decide to lend part of the collection to Greece.