Closed petition Return the Parthenon Marbles via the establishment of a new independent body

Closed on 4 September 2020

This petition asks Parliament to set up a new body which would oversee the return of cultural objects from UK National museums when requested to do so by overseas governments and communities. This would work in the same way as the Spoliation Panel which returns items stolen in the Nazi era

This petition asks Britain to return the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum so they can be housed in the new Acropolis Museum in Athens. They were taken by Lord Elgin when Greece was occupied by the Ottoman Empire and now Greece would like them to be returned. In addition there are other important cultural objects which other countries have a valid claim on, for example the Benin Bronzes, the Gweagal Shield and the Hoa Hakananai’a stone statue (which was taken by the Royal Navy in 1879).