The marbles were far from Greece by means of Lord Elgin in the early nineteenth century (Image: PA)

The British Museum is protecting secret talks with the Greek government over whether to return the Elgin Marbles, in keeping with a report.

The museum’s chair, ex-chancellor George Osborne, has reportedly been in negotiations with Greece’s high minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in view that last November.

Even As Mr Osborne has vowed not to ‘dismantle our great assortment’ the talks are at an ‘complicated level’, said assets quoted via Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea.

The marbles are made up of 17 figures and an elaborate frieze that decorated the two,500-12 months-antique Parthenon temple at the Acropolis in Athens.

They have been taken by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century whilst he was once the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.

Like many artefacts transported to Britain in the course of the imperial generation, the marbles have been the subject of a long-running dispute over the place they need to be displayed or returned.

Mr Mitsotakis has called for the sculptures to be transferred on many occasions, even providing to mortgage other treasures to the British Museum in exchange.

The marbles have lengthy been the topic of dispute (Picture: Reuters)

Britain has had the marbles considering the fact that 1816 (Picture: Backgrid)

A spokesperson for the Parthenon Challenge, a campaign advocating for the go back of the marbles, hailed the talks as a ‘certain signal’ and insisted a ‘win-win resolution’ to the centuries-antique debate is feasible.

The British Museum mentioned: ‘we have now publicly referred to as for a new Parthenon partnership with Greece and we’ll check with somebody, together with the Greek executive, approximately methods to take that ahead.

‘as the chair of trustees stated closing month, we function within the regulation and we’re not likely to dismantle our nice collection because it tells a novel tale of our common humanity.

‘this can see the British Museum continue in its role as a “museum of the world” showing awesome Greek artefacts as a part of rotating exhibits, with the Parthenon Sculptures reunited in their rightful house in Athens.’

Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more tales like this, test our news page.

.