Elgin Marbles could be returned temporarily to Greece in swap scheme – Osborne
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Elgin Marbles could be returned temporarily to Greece in exchange for ancient artefacts that have never been seen in the UK before, chairman of the British Museum trustees George Osborne has said. Responding to criticism from the Greek culture minister of treatment of the Elgin marbles, former chancellor Mr Osborne said he wanted to explore an arrangement where the Parthenon sculptures spent time in Greece. He added: “It’s not a particularly happy situation where we have had this stand-off with Greece for many decades, and the level of scholarship and engagement that we have with many other countries is not one that is replicated with some Greek museums.” He continued: “We want to create a proper partnership that would mean objects from Greece coming here, objects that have potentially never left Greece before and certainly never been seen before, and objects from the Parthenon collection potentially travelling to Greece.