Rishi Sunak accuses Greek PM of grandstanding over Elgin Marbles
Rishi Sunak accused the Greek Prime Minister of “grandstanding” over the Elgin Marbles because the dplomatic row between London and Athens deepened right this moment.
Labour chief Keir Starmer and Mr Sunak clashed over report migration to Britain and the Elgin Marbles at a fiery session of Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Labour chief taunted the Prime Minister over the fiasco surrounding the traditional sculptures faraway from Greece within the early nineteenth Century. Rattled Mr Sunak scrapped a gathering with Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis this week after the Hellenic chief broke a pledge to not use his journey to press for the Marbles to be returned to Athens.
Deeping the row with Greece, Mr Sunak claimed Mr Mitsotakis was attempting to “grandstand” over the repatriation row. He mentioned: “Of course, we’re always happy to discuss important topics of substance with our allies like tackling illegal migration or indeed strengthening our security. But when it was clear that the purpose of the meeting was not to discuss substantive issues for the future, but rather to grandstand and relitigate issues of the past, it wasn’t appropriate.
“But moreover, when particular commitments and particular assurances on that subject have been made to this nation, after which have been damaged, it could appear alien to him however my view is when individuals make commitments, they need to preserve them.” The Labour boss accused the Premier of “trying to humiliate” his Greek counterpart.
Mr Starmer told the PM: “Never mind the British Museum, it’s the Prime Minister who has obviously lost his marbles.”
The sculptures once adorned the Parthenon at the Acropolis in Athens. They were removed by British diplomat Lord Elgin while Athens was still under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and have been in the British Museum since 1816. Athens wants them back, with Mr Mitsotakis claiming their removal was like cutting the Mona Lisa in half. There have been talks around a potential loan of the sculptures, but No 10 has insisted that Athens would have to accept they belong to the British Museum for that to even be an option.
The Labour leader also pushed the Conservative chief over record net migration figures showing 1.3million more people came to the UK over the past two years than left. But the PM claimed Labour’s “backroom deal with the EU” would allow “an additional 100,000 migrants” into Britain “every year”. Mr Sunak, who has been battered by Tory backbenchers over the record figures, admitted: “The levels of migration are far too high and I am determined to bring them back down to sustainable levels.”
