§ 9. Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow) (Lab)What action the Department is taking as a result of the recent seminar at the British Museum chaired by Mr. Jon Snow on Iraqi artefacts. [180469]
§ The Minister for the Arts (Estelle Morris)My Department will continue its close association with the British Museum in helping the Iraqi Ministry for Culture to protect Iraq's culture and heritage.
§ Mr. DalyellWhat provision is being made for culture by the new British embassy in Baghdad?
§ Estelle MorrisIt is incredibly important that provision is made. There are lots of priorities as the new provisional Government take over today. We wish them well, as we do the elected Government in due course. I share the concern behind my hon. Friend's question that care needs to be taken in relation to cultural artefacts and heritage in the same way as it does in relation to transport, security, education and health. I promise that my Department will remain in close contact with the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development to ensure that any contribution that we can make, and any pressure that we can put on through our representation there, is made. Meanwhile, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office tells me that in due course the director for Iraq of the British Council will be the cultural attaché based at the British embassy in Baghdad. That is where responsibility will lie in the immediate future. I want to give a firm undertaking that we will want to keep that under close scrutiny and make sure that it is the level and kind of support that the new Government will need to protect their incredibly valuable heritage.
§ Mr. David Cameron (Witney) (Con)Is the Minister satisfied that the lessons have been learned from the dreadful looting that took place in Baghdad? Does she agree that warnings from bodies about professional looting were ignored, that the border of Iraq was not policed, that the law for importing artefacts in this country was imperfect—I know that it has now been corrected—and that Departments did not work 14 together as quickly as they should have done? What can she say to satisfy us that the lessons really have been learned and that those things will not happen again?
§ Estelle MorrisI very much hope that the lessons have been learned. To some extent, I hope that circumstances will not arise again in which we must take action based on lessons learned. Without wishing to make excuses, the situation was unusual, and things were not done that could have been done. There is no doubt about that. My hon. Friend the Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) highlighted the fact that much needs to be done to make sure that the heritage is preserved. We have been in contact with both the new provisional Government and the former alliances about lessons learned. As far as I, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and our Department are concerned, it is our job to make sure that the lessons are learned. Moreover, the key point is that the lessons are acted on. To some extent, people knew what should have been done, which was not always given the priority that it should have been given, at a time of other equally high priorities. More important than lessons learned are lessons acted on in future. That is the direction in which we ought to go.
§ Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)The Minister will know that the vast majority of people in the world who ever have an opportunity to see any of the great works of art from Iraq will see them in the British Museum, because it has probably the best collection in the world of Iraqi, Abyssinian, Assyrian and Mesopotamian works. Does she believe that the British Museum could do more to try to explain the connection of those ancient artefacts with modern society, and particularly with Islam, as a means of overcoming much Islamophobia around the world?
§ Estelle MorrisIndeed. That is one of the major purposes of the British Museum, and it does that task incredibly well. May I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the staff of the British Museum who have been to Iraq in the past and who have worked with people from the museum sector there to help to update their skills? That will be incredibly valuable in the years ahead. However, I refer my hon. Friend to the original question, which was about a recent seminar at the British Museum, chaired by Jon Snow, on Iraqi artefacts. I heard from from people who were there, including my hon. Friend the Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell), who asked the question, exactly what the British Museum did. I think that one of the most valuable aspects of museums is that they provide a safe place in which different interpretations of events and a sense of our history and heritage can be conveyed. They help to explain some of today's conflicts, which I believe is one of museums' major contributions to our society. I am delighted that this country has museums of the calibre of the British Museum that continue to provide that service.