§ Lord Jenkins of PutneyMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows: To ask Her Majesty's Government by whom the present trustees of the British Museum were appointed.
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Belstead)My Lords, the appointment of British Museum trustees is made under the provisions of the British Museum Act 1963, Section 1(1), as amended by the Transfer of Functions (Arts, Libraries and National Heritage) Order 1986. There are up to 25 trustees, of whom one is appointed by the Sovereign and 15 by the Prime Minister; four are appointed by the Lord President of the Council on the nomination of the presidents of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy, the British Academy and the Society of Antiquaries of London, and five by the trustees of the British Museum.
§ Lord Jenkins of PutneyMy Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for that comprehensive information. Can he say whether the director of the museum was representing the views of the trustees when on television he referred to an attempt to return the Elgin Marbles as "cultural fascism"?
§ Lord BelsteadMy Lords, I confess that I did not have the pleasure of seeing the programme to which the noble Lord refers. But I believe that the trustees and the director concur in their views on the return of the marbles.
§ Lord Jenkins of PutneyMy Lords, would it not have been better had the director expressed himself in less controversial terms? Is the Minister aware that there is a wide body of opinion in favour of the return of the marbles to Greece?
§ Lord BelsteadMy Lords, I think that that is an opinion which is not shared by the museum trustees, by the director or indeed by Her Majesty's Government.
§ Lord Nugent of GuildfordMy Lords, if the political colour of the government of Greece were to change back to the extreme Right, as it was some years ago, does my noble friend think that there would be the same body of opinion supporting the return of the Elgin Marbles?
§ Lord BelsteadMy Lords, that is a hypothetical question, but it is nonetheless an interesting one, and as always I am grateful to my noble friend.
§ Lord StrabolgiMy Lords, is it true that the Elgin Marbles could not be returned to Greece without an Act of Parliament?
§ Lord BelsteadThat is true, my Lords.
§ Lord Jenkins of PutneyMy Lords, will the noble Lord accept that I shall do my best to go in the direction indicated by my noble friend?
§ Lord BelsteadMy Lords, perhaps we ought to finish the exchange by reminding ourselves that in 1983 the noble Lord brought forward a Bill which would have had that effect and your Lordships' House did not agree to it having a Second Reading.
§ Lord Boyd-CarpenterMy Lords, was it not only the activity of the then Lord Elgin which caused the marbles still to be in existence and had it been left to the Greeks would they not have been destroyed?
§ Lord BelsteadMy Lords, I do not think I ought to comment on that interesting question. But I am grateful to my noble friend for giving me the opportunity to say that the sculptures have been admirably looked after by the British Museum.