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LONDON — Rishi Sunak was accused of “losing his marbles” over his handling of a major diplomatic spat with Greece.
Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer launched a pun-filled barrage against Sunak at this week’s session of prime minister’s questions as the row between the U.K. and Greece over custody of the ancient Parthenon Marbles — known as the Elgin Marbles in the U.K. — deepens.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reacted separately, saying Sunak’s decision to abruptly cancel their meeting late on Monday evening was “unfortunate,” but gave Greece’s demand for the return of the Parthenon Marbles even more international publicity.
“It was an unfortunate event,” Mitsotakis said Wednesday during a meeting with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, but expressed confidence that it would not have any impact on bilateral ties.
Back in the Commons, Starmer accused Sunak of engaging in “small politics” for canceling the meeting with Mitsotakis over his decision to raise the issue of the historic artefacts, adding: “Never mind the British Museum — it’s the prime minister who has obviously lost his marbles.”
The marble sculptures were removed from Athens by diplomat and art aficionado Lord Elgin in the 19th century and have been housed in the British Museum since then, despite high-profile campaigning for their return.
London and Athens have been locked in a briefing war over the canceled visit all week, with Sunak’s No. 10 Downing Street claiming the Greek prime minister went back on a promise not to raise the issue of the sculptures’ return at a bilateral this week — and Mitsotakis’ team hotly disputing that.
Tory MPs — some of whom are already concerned with their leader’s handling of the diplomatic spat — sat glum-faced as Starmer quipped that, in an effort to distract from his failures, the PM had spent the week “arguing about an ancient relic that only a tiny minority of the British public have any interest in.”
“But that’s enough about the Tory party,” he added.
Sunak defended his actions and accused his Greek counterpart of “grandstanding” over the issue, before going on to claim it was no surprise that Starmer was “backing an EU country over Britain.”
Greek tragedy
The dispute led to No. 10 Downing Street accusing Mitsotakis of using his planned trip “as a public platform to re-litigate long-settled matters.”
Greek officials say there was never an “agreement” between the two sides not to discuss the issue and believe Sunak’s move was driven by political expediency.
“If Hamas can converse with Israel then Sunak can converse with Mitsotakis too,” Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said at an event at the London School of Economics (LSE) on Monday.
Gerapetritis met the U.K.’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron, at the latter’s request, on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Tuesday.
“The demand for the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures is a demand that arises from law, from history and from universal cultural values,” Gerapetritis said on Wednesday.
“Regardless of this, it is our belief that bilateral relations between Greece and the UK should be good and we will work with my counterpart in this direction.”
Sunak and Mitsotakis will both attend the COP28 climate summit in Dubai later this week.
Nektaria Stamouli contributed reporting from Athens.
This story has been updated.
