Sunak accuses Greek PM of 'grandstanding' over Elgin marbles

Rishi Sunak has accused the Greek prime minister of "grandstanding" over the deepening row surrounding the Elgin Marbles.

During a fiery clash with Sir Keir Starmer at PMQS, Mr Sunak said he cancelled a meeting with Kyriakos Mitsotakis because it was "clear" the purpose of it "was not to discuss substantive issues for the future, but rather to grandstand and relitigate issues of the past".

He repeated his claim that his Greek counterpart broke "assurances" not to lobby for the return of the ancient Greek artefacts, on display and owned by the British Museum, while on his visit to the UK - something Athens has denied.

Sir Keir accused the prime minister of "losing his marbles" and said he managed to meet Mr Mitsotakis , even though Labour's position is that it won't change the raw regarding the ownership of the sculptures.

Mr Sunak hit back: "No one will be surprised that he's backing an EU country over Britain."

Sir Keir said: "Let me get this straight. The Prime Minister is now saying that meeting the prime minister of Greece is somehow supporting the EU instead of discussing serious issues?"

Following the exchange, a former cabinet minister told Sky's political Beth Rigby that Mr Sunak has "created a full diplomatic breakdown" and the Greek government are "furious".

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