Don't return Benin Bronzes, says former anti-racism tsar

Telegraph

13-04-2025

The Benin Bronzes should not be sent back to Africa, Britain's former anti-racism tsar has said.
Sir Trevor Phillips, who previously led the Commission for Racial Equality, said the case for returning the treasures looted by British forces more than 125 years ago was 'weak' because of their complex history.
The Nigerian government has repeatedly demanded the return of the artefacts that were scattered to museums across the world after being taken in a raid on the ancient Kingdom of Benin, located in modern-day Nigeria, in 1897.
The British Museum has come under mounting pressure to hand over its own collection after several UK and European institutions, including both the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford, sought to return theirs.
But Sir Trevor, who led the anti-racism commission from 2003 until its abolition in 2006, warned the issue was more complex than 'a simple matter of right and wrong'.
Sir Trevor is the co-author of a report from the Policy Exchange think tank urging museums not to rush into restitution deals for moral reasons pushed by political campaigners.
The paper says returning items to their countries of origin has often been presented as a way for institutions to 'right the wrongs of the past'.
But it warns that claims actually 'vary greatly in legitimacy', with their merits 'highly disputed on historical, philosophical and political grounds'.
Materials from slave trade
Sir Trevor, a veteran broadcaster and former Labour Party member, said: 'Take the case of the Benin Bronzes, taken to Britain in the late 19th century following a punitive expedition.
'And yet, the people of Benin obtained the brass for many of these artefacts by trading with Portuguese merchants in exchange for chattel slaves.
'And are more people who have a meaningful connection to the Bronzes – including the global West African diaspora – more likely to have the opportunity to see the Bronzes in British museums, or in the Oba of Benin 's [the traditional leader of the Edo people who were Benin's dominant group] private collection?
'The case for returning them is weak. Yet in other cases, such as religious artefacts still venerated by the indigenous community who created them, the case for return may be much stronger.'
The Policy Exchange paper, published on Sunday, claims too many decisions on handing over precious artefacts are being taken without proper consultation, while some museums use long-term loans as a form of restitution by the back door.
It also raises concerns about a so-called 'loophole' in charity law, which could allow the Elgin Marbles to be handed back to Greece.
The British Museum and other major institutions are barred by law from giving away the contents of their collections.
But clauses in the Charities Act 2022 had the unintended effect of allowing museums to dispose of artefacts if there was a 'moral obligation' for doing so.
Tory ministers failed to fully close this loophole before last year's general election, and the Labour Government could exploit these clauses to allow the return of the Elgin Marbles to Athens.
Museums 'speak to all humanity'
Sir Trevor said: 'Recent years have seen an increasing call for British museums to return artefacts taken from other countries, often under circumstances of disputed legality.
'For some, this is a simple matter of right and wrong. Yet the truth is rarely as simple. Times change, cultures evolve, people migrate – and, over the centuries, artefacts gain meaning and connection to many people beyond those now living in the land from which they first emerged.
'Our best museums and collections aim to speak to all of humanity, educating and informing, not to any single nationality, race or creed.
'As with statues or buildings named after individuals whose legacy is being re-evaluated, in too many cases we have seen decisions taken rapidly or without due process, or where only a partisan and non-representative set of stakeholders has been consulted.
'In many cases the outcome has been to prolong conflict, in others to delay implementation, and in still others to create a fresh movement for the reversal of decisions.'
He added: 'We must deal with the world as it is, not as we would like it to be.'
The Policy Exchange report sets out a new framework for museum stewards to follow when dealing with restitution claims, featuring eight key principles.
These include considering the 'relative significance' of the object to the place where it is being held, as well as the group making the claim, and the world at large.