Why is Rishi so afraid of losing (not his) marbles? 

Welcome to Tuesday’s Early Edition from i.

From the moment they were scraped from their 2,500-year-old home and hauled onto British shores in the early 1800s, their removal has been described as an act of imperial ransacking. In 1811 Lord Byron angrily penned a poem decrying the “plunderer” who “basely stole what less barbarians won”. He was referring to, of course, Thomas Bruce, the Seventh Earl of Elgin, who oversaw the removal of the adorning features of the Parthenon in Athens and requested to put them on public display in London. The ambassador had negotiated the exile of what are now known as the Parthenon Marbles with the Ottoman Empire, receiving a permit from the sultan which read: “When they wish to take away some pieces of stone with old inscriptions and figures, no opposition be made.” Britain’s parliament declared the acquisition legal, but for the last 40 years Greece has petitioned for the return of the ancient artefacts, which date back to 447BC. Pressure and controversy has accelerated in recent years. In 2021, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged Boris Johnson to reunify Athens with the “stolen” marbles (to which the answer was clearly no). High-profile British campaigners, from Stephen Fry to senior MPs have urged their return. Earlier this month, George Osborne, the chair of the British Museum, reiterated his vision for an agreement with Greece that could see the marbles loaned out in a reciprocal deal. But now there is a fresh twist in the tale. An apparent decision by Rishi Sunak to pull out of a meeting with Mr Mitsotakis at the last minute has thrown the dispute wide open again. What’s going on – and could there be a solution in sight? We’ll take a look, after the headlines.

 Today’s news, and why it matters

The Government department overseeing the environment is facing an 11 per cent cut to its budget by the end of next year, official statistics revealed. The Lib Dems warned that efforts to clean up England’s rivers and lakes could be hit by the reduction in real-terms funding.

Nurses in England could return to the picket lines after reacting with fury to the Government offering consultants a double-digit pay rise with the promise of another salary boost to follow. Officials have agreed a deal which will see consultants get an up to 13 per cent rise for this financial year, although it will not be paid until April 2024. They will receive another boost in 2024/25 with the figure yet to be decided.

Migrant carers are spending five-figure sums just to be introduced to a potential employer before being forced to work 19-hour shifts without a break, a report on their exploitation has revealed. Vulnerable employees have faced demands for excessive fees from recruitment agents in return for jobs in the UK, some working 80-hour weeks and having money deducted from their wages if they try to leave.

Matt Hancock “punished” the people of Manchester with the most severe Covid restrictions during the pandemic because of a political row over furlough cash, Andy Burnham said. Mr Burnham told the Covid inquiry it was “nothing short of disgraceful” that the former health secretary chose to impose Tier 3 restrictions on Greater Manchester in October 2020 despite being told it “would not work”.

Two teenagers who had a “preoccupation” with “violence, torture and death” drew up a list of five people they wanted to kill before luring a transgender girl to a park and stabbing her, a jury has heard. Brianna Ghey, 16, suffered 28 stab wounds to the head, neck, back and chest in a “sustained and violent” attack in Warrington, Cheshire, on the afternoon of 11 February this year.

Up to 40 Conservative MPs are poised to rebel over Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation policy as they question ministers’ commitment to the scheme. A major row is brewing over whether planned emergency legislation will give ministers the power to override the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) so deportation flights cannot be blocked by the Strasbourg court.

A teaspoon’s worth of pristine dust captured from an asteroid 4.6bn years old and 200m miles from Earth has arrived at the Natural History Museum in London, where scientists are preparing to unlock its secrets. “It’s amazing. It’s like a little treasure trove that takes us back to the start of the solar system,” said Dr Ashley King, a planetary scientist who will work on the grains at the museum.

Three questions on the Parthenon Marbles:

Why did Rishi cancel? Without a formal explanation from Downing St, many reports have resorted to speculation as to why today’s lunchtime meeting won’t go ahead. We do know that No.10 had offered a meeting with Deputy PM Oliver Dowden instead, and that it still believed the “UK-Greece relationship is hugely important”. But according to a spokesman for Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Mr Sunak “cancelled their bilateral meeting at the 11th hour”. The issue of the Parthenon Sculptures has been bubbling away over the last few days. On Sunday, Mr Mitsotakis told the BBC talks over securing their return were not progressing quickly enough, and likened the British museum’s possession of them to cutting “the Mona Lisa in half”. He said: “This is not in my mind an ownership question, this is a reunification argument – where can you best appreciate what is essentially one monument?” Mr Sunak’s office disputed the “cut in half” description, saying: “Obviously [that’s] not something we would agree with. These were legally acquired at the time”. But such a vision was raised in 2009 by Labour’s Andrew Dinsmore who told parliament: “Indeed, some of the marbles are literally cut in two, with half the body in London and half in Athens.” Mr Sunak’s spokesperson also said the law prevents to marbles from being returned to Greece and that he would not be in favour of a loan agreement. It’s not a new position. Earlier this year, the PM said: “We share their treasures with the world, and the world comes to the UK to see them. The collection of the British Museum is protected by law, and we have no plans to change it.” But there is one more factor possibly at play too. While in town, the Greek PM did manage to organise a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer. The Labour leader is believed to be open to the idea of loaning back the marbles if he becomes PM at the next general election. “If a loan deal that is mutually acceptable to the British government and the Greek government will be agreed, we won’t stand in the way,” the Financial Times quoted one of Mr Starmer’s close allies as saying. If it were to be an election issue, Mr Sunak might want to take another look at the recent polls on that particular issue.

What is the law Sunak is refusing to change? Legislation drawn up in 1963, known as the British Museum Act, forbids the institution from parting with its collection, unless an object is “unfit to be retained” (or if the object is a duplicate). However the bombshell revelations of thousands of thefts from the museum has called that law into question. In August, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Afrikan reparations, was quoted by the Guardian as saying: “One of the most insulting reasons that they’ve given is that the other countries that these items belong to would either not be able to take care of them or they are likely to be stolen. But you’ve got people in this country putting them on eBay.” Christopher Marinello, a lawyer and expert in recovering stolen art, previously told the PA news agency the thefts “makes one wonder whether the Parthenon Marbles are safe in the British Museum after all, and perhaps they should be returned to the museum in Athens for their security.” George Osborne’s most recent solution to the scandal was to announce an exhibition of the recovered stolen goods. But that’s not his only idea…

How would a loan work? In a speech from the room housing the sculptures earlier this month, former Chancellor George Osborne reasserted his hopes for achieving an agreement with Greece. He said: “An agreement that enables these great sculptures to be seen in Athens as well as London. An agreement that that allows other treasures from Greece, some that have never left those shores, to be seen here at the British Museum. As Trustees we look for a partnership with our Greek friends that requires no one to relinquish their claims, asks for no changes to laws which are not ours to write, but which finds a practical, pragmatic and rational way forward.” In October, Mr Osborne said he had been in talks with Greece about such a deal. “We want to create a proper partnership that would mean objects from Greece coming here, objects that have potentially never left Greece before and certainly never been seen before, and objects from the Parthenon collection potentially travelling to Greece. But if this was an easy problem to solve it would have been solved in the 1810s and ever since. It’s a problem British governments of all colours have wrestled with.” Some have speculated an agreement for a loan would be a convenient loophole around changing the law. In a piece for the Conversation, legal expert Dr John Picton writes: “Once the marbles are rehoused in the specially built Acropolis Museum, it is unlikely that they will ever return to London. Any request from future museum trustees would be met with a cold shoulder. And so the ‘loan’ would permanently restore the sculptures to Athens, while leaving the British Museum Act 1963 and its general bar on deaccession intact”.

Around the world

Three-year-old twins are among the latest hostages released by Hamas on Monday, as officials signalled that the Israel-Gaza truce would be extended a further two days. 11 hostages are “now in Israeli territory” after being freed in the fourth wave of a prisoner swap, the Israel Defense Forces said. 33 Palestinian prisoners, held in Israel after being arrested for various crimes, were also freed and driven to the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

Saudi Arabia is driving a huge global investment plan to create demand for its oil and gas in developing countries, an undercover investigation has revealed. Critics said the plan was designed to get countries “hooked on its harmful products”

Health experts have said a U-turn on a smoking ban in New Zealand was a win for the tobacco industry, as they raised fears it could prompt the UK to backtrack on a similar initiative. Jamie Brown, director of the the University College London (UCL) Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, said New Zealand’s reversal of its world-leading ban was “extremely disappointing”.
The birth of a critically endangered Sumatran rhino has been celebrated by Indonesia. The species has a population of fewer than 50.

Jill Biden has unveiled the White House’s Christmas decorations, with the theme “Magic, Wonder and Joy”. It’s designed to encourage viewers to embrace their inner child.

 Watch out for…

 a test flight mid-morning from London Heathrow to New York’s JFK airport using pure sustainable aviation fuel. 

 Thoughts for the day

 The BBC is not the enemy. Those in the Jewish community who may be calling for the defenestration of the BBC should be mindful of what they wish for, argues Simon Kelner.

Labour does not want to have a serious debate about immigration. The party can start talking about migration and the trade-offs for health, care and education – or it can shriek about high numbers, writes Andrew Fisher.

Spotify Wrapped’s evil genius? It sells millennials an identity. Music is deeply personal – and for a generation obsessed with finding their ‘true selves’, there is nothing more appealing than a service that not only sees into your soul, but reflects it back at you, says Emily Bootle.

 Culture Break

 Live at the Apollo was a comedy kingmaker. What happened? Almost two decades since the ‘gold standard’ of stand-up shows first hit TV screens, Rachael Healy talks to comedians about the programme’s enduring appeal.

The Big Read

 William and Harry rift widened ‘beyond repair’ by Cabinet Secretary, claims Omid Scobie. The UK’s top civil servant is accused by the royal biographer of leaking stories about the Sussexes, Adam Sherwin reports.

Sport

 Novak Djokovic is wrong – the new ‘World Cup of Tennis’ is working. The Davis Cup’s new format has raised eyebrows but the crowds in southern Spain have proven tennis fans are starting to get behind it, writes James Gray.

Something to brighten your day

 ‘I put my Christmas tree up on 31 October’: The festive fight – when should decorations go up? Two i writers battle it out over when to adorn their households for Christmas – without declaring themselves excessive or a Scrooge.