00:00I started making a documentary about why I think the Parthenon marbles should be repatriated to
00:08Greece. If you call them the Elgin marbles it implies that they belong to Elgin but they never
00:17did. The Parthenon marbles are in this place on a myth. I think it is pretty clear that Elgin
00:25stole marbles. The British state claims ownership. Legally acquired. That has been the fundamental
00:37argument of the British for over 200 years. Legally acquired. What was the British government
00:51doing by and from Elgin? We don't know whether they were stolen or not and for me the cause
00:57of knowledge in museums is that bit more important than national pride. It might have felt right
01:03in the 19th century but it's wrong for the 21st century. It's a colonial mindset. You can't
01:10look after it. We'll take it from you. It's out in our great robbery. It's theft. Whatever
01:18you look at it, it's theft. Those marbles should go back to Greece. The British Museum is in possession
01:27of stolen goods and you have an obligation to return them to the rightful owner. It was built
01:36there. It belongs there.
Comments