Rejected petition The British Museum it is time to repatriate the stolen Parthenon (Elgin)Marbles

Rejected on 8 October 2018

200th anniversary of the Act of Parliament that saw the UK buy 2,500-year-old sculptures stolen from the Parthenon from the then Earl of Elgin. Widely known in Britain as the 'Elgin Marbles' It is time to send them back to Athens to allow all the surviving sculptures to be repatriated and reunited .

There is an element of British self-interest in this, giving a gift of this magnitude would remind EU member states that despite our imminent departure, Britain is still a friend and ally — and one worth cutting a reasonable trade deal with. Andrew George, chair of the British Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, said the Parthenon sculptures were “some of the most remarkable antiquities on the globe” and people should be able to see them in one place.

Why was this petition rejected?

It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.

The repatriation of an item from the collection of the British Museum is a matter for the Trustees of the British Museum, not the UK Government or Parliament.

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.