Mayor Sadiq Khan has risked irritating British Museum bosses by doing an interview with a Greek newspaper in which he urges the museum to “share” the Parthenon Marbles with Athens.
“I don’t see why the British Museum, the British government, the government of Greece and the museum in Athens can’t come to an accommodation to share these wonderful, wonderful Elgin Marbles,” he told Ta Nea earlier this week.
“I’d really encourage the British Museum, the British government, the government of Greece and the Acropolis Museum in Athens to talk about how we can make more progress on this issue,” he said. “In terms of the Elgin Marbles there’s a discussion to share some of this stuff.”
Last year British Museum chair George Osborne said there is a “deal to be done” over sharing the stones. However, the museum is not currently planning to change policy. It is forbidden from a full repatriation.
Earlier this year, PM Rishi Sunak said there are “no plans” to change the law and allow a move. The marbles have been in the museum since 1817, after they were removed from the Acropolis by Lord Elgin.
A British Museum Spokesperson said: “As the Chair of Trustees said recently, we operate within the law and we’re not going to dismantle the Museum’s collection as it tells the story of our common humanity. We are however looking at long term partnerships, which would enable some of our greatest objects to be shared with audiences around the world. Discussions with Greece about a Parthenon Partnership are on-going and constructive.”
Sir Salman is as in demand as ever
Salman Rushdie has had a busy return to London this week. He went to the South Bank Awards on Sunday, and last night supported his wife Rachel Eliza Griffiths at her book launch in Daunts Marylebone. Promise is Griffiths’ debut novel. She has published five books of poetry, and says when she met Rushdie at a literary event in 2016, he made a point of buying and reading all of them. They married in 2021, making her his fifth wife. After Rushdie was attacked on stage last year, Griffiths looked after him, and said she found “there’s a strength you don’t realise you have access to”.
Lily down on London foods
Lily Allen may not be welcome in her local pizzeria this week. Yesterday the singer turned actor, who has moved to New York but is back in town for a West End show, said London’s restaurant scene has declined. In response, the Standard’s Josh Barrie wrote in defence of our capital’s eateries but Allen doubled down last night. “I stand by my comments,” she said. “My local curry houses, local Lebanese and pizza joints have all slipped.” She did give a hat tip to Mangal II in Dalston, so it isn’t all doom and gloom. Her US actor husband David Harbour, right, was at Wimbledon yesterday for GQ x evian lunch.
Cricket mad Tom’s has swooning fans
Tom Tugendhat seemed to make a swipe at Rishi Sunak last night at an IEA party, using a cricket metaphor. “When your back is against the wall, it’s time to swing out and hit some sixes,” the security minister said. When we asked if he was talking to the PM, Tugendhat was saved by a fan who interrupted to say he was her biggest political crush, beating Dominic Raab. Tory think tank the IEA gave ex-PM Liz Truss lots of her ideas, but she didn’t come along.
Young V&A in LGBT row
Controversy at the new Young V&A museum in Bethnal Green, where staff were told to remove a poster that read “Some people are trans. Get over it!” and two books with LGBT themes just before the opening this weekend, apparently on the orders of boss Tristram Hunt. Some workers were unhappy, and Rowan Ellis, whose book Here and Queer was removed, has said she is “beyond angry” at the move.
The V&A told us: “The decision was not intended to be exclusionary, and we do recognise the concerns that this has caused”.
