Elgin

It was an August morning in 2014 when Greek archaeologist Tatiana Poulou walked across the gardens to the entrance of Broomhall House, the family seat of the earls of Elgin in Scotland. "I was nervous, I admit. I was about to study his unpublished archive and the only thing I was interested in was the historical truth - whatever it may be," she tells Kathimerini nearly a decade later.

It was no ordinary breakfast gathering. In June 1808, Sir Anthony Carlisle, a surgeon and leading member of London's elite, had prepared a surprise for his all-male, art-loving toffish guests, taking them to a room where boxing champion Bob Gregson stood posed like an exhibit.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled Tuesday's meeting with his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after his office said the two sides had previously agreed that it should not be used as a public platform "to relitigate long, long settled matters," a reference to ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures.

Against the backdrop of the scandal of the theft of hundreds of valuable objects from the British Museum, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni has told MPs that "the government has a strategic plan regarding the claim for the Parthenon Sculptures."

A moot court is aspiring to test legal arguments, and become a model for future legal actions, on the issue of the ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures and the fact that Lord Elgin did not pay customs taxes for the import of the Parthenon Sculptures.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ruled out changing a law which prohibits the British Museum handing the Parthenon marbles permanently back to Greece.

Sunak said there are no plans to amend the legislation, which states the museum can only dispose of objects within its collection in limited circumstances. However, the museum could still arrange a loan of the sculptures.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday dismissed reports of an imminent repatriation of the Parthenon sculptures known in Britain as the Elgin marbles.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has expressed his confidence that the Parthenon Sculptures, currently exhibited at the British Museum, will be returned to Athens.

The British Museum said on Wednesday it was holding "constructive discussions" with Greece over the Parthenon Sculptures amid renewed speculation that the 2,500-year-old marbles could soon be returned to Athens.

The new director of the Acropolis Museum has called for an end to the long-running dispute for the return of the Parthenon marbles to Greece, noting that London's parliament could rule on the issue.

"It's time for the matter to be closed," Nikos Stampolidis told AFP in an interview.