Elgin Marbles could be loaned to Greece indefinitely under MPs' plans
Greece and the British Museum are locked in a stalemate in talks over a potential deal that would see the ancient sculptures returned to Athens.
Limited by legislation, the best the British Museum chairman George Osborne can offer the Greek government is a three-year loan.
This will not be countenanced by Greek leaders who claim that the Marbles were stolen by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, and are in effect illegally held in the UK.
Parliamentarians sympathetic to the Greek cause are hoping to alter existing laws to pave the way for an 'indefinite loan' currently barred by UK law.
This would allow the British Museum to 'loan' the Marbles to Greece without having to renounce ownership of the sculptures that once adorned the Parthenon.
Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George is leading efforts in the Commons to have the Marbles returned.
He told the Telegraph that he hopes to 'get parliamentary draughtsmen to look at the way we could bring in a statutory instrument to address it'.
Mr George said that tweaking UK law would give the British Museum more freedom and make it easier to reach a deal over the Marbles, which Mr Osborne has advocated.
The MP said: 'We have fertile ground in George Osborne and the trustees of the British Museum.'
The British Museum is prevented by British Museum Act 1963 from disposing of objects in its collection, which is held for the public, and it therefore lacks the power to hand over the Elgin Marbles.
It can offer a loan, but this would necessitate Greece accepting Britain's legal ownership, and the eventual need to return what had been loaned.
The Greek position is that the Marbles were stolen, and that the statues, plaques and sections of frieze designed by Phidias should be permanently returned to Athens.
The UK government has said it will not change the British Museum act, resulting in a stalemate between all parties.
Chris Bryant, the art minister, has been adamant that the three-year loan option is the only currently available legal means by which the Marbles could ever end up in Greece.
However, MPs and former peers, including Lord Vaizey and Baroness Debbonaire, hope that they can push for changes to the Export Control Act 2002.
This limits the loan of cultural artefacts to three years, but by tweaking to allow for indefinite periods, MPs hope to create a backdoor to permanently exporting the Marbles without becoming embroiled in the legality of ownership.
This plan would require Parliamentary support to introduce a statutory instrument, and on the Greek government accepting a permanent return deal under the guise of a 'loan'.
The British Museum will soon need somewhere to store the marbles as it begins work o a major restoration of its western galleries, where the artworks are held, and campaigners feel that it is the pert time to reach and agreement with Greece
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