Greece’s prime minister accused Britain of an “affront to the Greek people” yesterday after he learnt of a clandestine operation by the British Museum to lend one of the Elgin Marbles to Russia. Antonis Samaras demanded the return of sculptures he described as stolen property and said that Greek civilisation could not be “broken up, loaned out or conceded”. The loan of a headless sculpture of the Ancient Greek god Ilissos, which was removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, has ratcheted up tension between Athens and London over the long-running dispute. A spokeswoman for David Cameron insisted that the sculptures were the property of the British Museum, and that the prime minister believed that it was for the trustees to “decide how they sort it and where they exhibit it”. Mr Samaras made his comments in a strong statement yesterday afternoon. “The British argument held until recently — that the Parthenon Marbles cannot be moved — is no longer valid,” he said. “Just as the existence of the new Acropolis Museum invalidated the other British argument that there was no appropriate space for exhibiting the sculptures. “The Parthenon and its marbles have been looted. The sculptures are priceless. We Greeks are at one with our history and civilisation, which cannot be broken up, loaned out, or conceded.” Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, responded that the Greek authorities
A British businessman was given a 20-year jail sentence by a French court last night for battering his girlfriend to death in a luxury hotel. Ian Griffin, 45, from Warrington, was found guilty of the murder of Kinga Legg, 36, from Opatowek in Poland. He was described as a liar, a wife-beater and a “sort of gigolo”. Paris criminal court heard that Ms Legg had been found dead in the bathroom of a €1,000-a-night (£790) suite in the Bristol Hotel in Paris with more than 100 bruises on her body, including 17 on her head and 33 on her chest. “The autopsy revealed the power of the blows. This body had been battered,” said Philippe Courroye, for the prosecution. Griffin had told the court that he had no memory of the dispute that led to Ms Legg’s death in 2009. He said that they had argued in a restaurant when she had shouted “You owe me sex” at him, but that
A letter discovered in Downing Street files at the National Archives has placed Britain in the dock at the European Court of Human Rights, accused of torturing detainees in Northern Ireland in the 1970s. The confidential memo written in March 1977 by Merlyn Rees, then Labour home secretary, states that, six years earlier, Conservative ministers had authorised the use of torture in Ulster. Mr Rees told prime minister James Callaghan that he thought individual soldiers or police officers should not be prosecuted because “a political decision was taken” to use the so-called deep interrogation techniques. He wrote: “It is my view (confirmed by Brian Faulkner [former prime minister of Northern Ireland] before his death) that the decision to use methods of torture was taken by ministers — in particular Lord Carrington, then secretary of state for defence”.
Arsenal striker is reticent on his talent, eloquent on his impoverished youth
Lovestruck IT guy uses a heartrate monitor to plot it all on a spreadsheet
From John Sutherland on literary fiction to Ben Macintyre on history
The reform of stamp duty has righted a wrong but the chancellor’s autumn statement barely addressed the lack of housing supply
Africans should honour Madiba’s memory by uprooting corruption
A mother who breastfeeds in public is a model of sense and propriety
Mohammed Ahmed and Yusuf Sarwar, both 22, from Birmingham, ordered books entitled Islam for Dummies and The Koran for Dummies
GCHQ - UK - £30,000-£45,000
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust - Sussex - £13,000 - £45,000
PwC - Middle East - Salary Not Specified
Swire Group - Location & Salary Not Specified
The UK’s number 1 prestige finance company. Click here now for a quick competitive quote!
McLaren MP4-12C GT3 RACE CAR - unique opportunity
The ultimate name dealing in luxury and performance cars - click here to view stock
Rolls Royce Phantom 6.7 Saloon - diamond black with seashell interior
Go to Fairlawn, KT2 7HY 5/6 bed hses. from £2.5m.
Piste-side properties with great views & the highest rental returns in the French Alps.
Salcombe’s first development of new properties right on the water’s edge for almost twenty years.
Find your next flat or house for sale in the UK with Zoopla and The Times
Prices from £999pp including return economy flights with Qantas.
Your personalised luxury Southeast Asia holiday from £1,790 + flights
Return flights to Malta from £75 with the national airline Air Malta. Re-live your Summer.
Ski the Portes du Soleil, relax by a log fire, enjoy lovely food, stay in boutique luxury with AliKats
Giles Whittell: Human extraterrestrial exploration has been stalled for too long. The Orion mission marks the beginning of a new era
Kurt Barling If we become complacent about Islamist demagogues, then frustrated young Britons will be continue to be drawn to extremism
Hugo Rifkind: Is the retro lingerie phenomenon degrading or empowering for women? And am I a sex object for watching it?
Oliver Moody: It’s a move of a piece with the slippery realpolitik of ancient Athens, asserting the museum’s place as one of the world’s centres of culture
Charges of crimes against humanity levelled at President Kenyatta fail
US diplomats believed Alois Brunner, thought to have died in Syria at least four years ago, carried on with his deadly trade in Damascus
The government of the northern state of Punjab has ordered an inquiry into the free eye check-up camp that has left patients blind
Investors are deserting Russian markets amid concerns that the economy will not be able to withstand sanctions and falling oil prices
The chain is introducing alcohol to thousands of sites in the United States as part of an effort to revive its outlets and move upmarket
Vince Cable is to write to the competition regulator after the food producer was criticised over a ‘pay-to-stay’ deal with suppliers
Songbird Estates says Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and Brookfield Group’s bid does ‘not reflect the full value of the company’
Exclusive Reformed scrum half no longer feels the need to spit the dummy
Tony Barrett meets the Crystal Palace centre back who is happy to have taken a road less travelled into the Barclays Premier League
Matthew Syed gains exclusive access to the Premiership leaders’ training ground to find their hooker consumed with turning over a new leaf
Philip Webster: Tory ministers have rounded on the BBC for its reporting on the autumn statement as the IFS and papers warn of dire cuts.
Stephan Shakespeare: YouGov polling shows a dip in optimism on how the economy - a crucial election issue for the Tories - is faring.
Matthew Goodwin: Recent polling may have knocked Nigel Farage’s hopes of winning a seat. But there’s plenty to encourage him.
Tim Montgomerie: Voters are bored of austerity. So what’s the incentive for George Osborne to take painful deficit-cutting decisions?
£120,000-a-week contract expected to tie the goalkeeper to City until at least 2019
Imperious team produce the goods to see off Australia on their way to yet another gold in front of a passionate home crowd in London
Hartlepool United 1 Blyth Spartans 2: Winger seals stunning comeback as non-League side add to their long list of scalps with victory at Victoria Park
Penny Mordaunt, the communities minister, takes the hoo-ha created by her revelation she made a Commons speech on cockerels with aplomb
‘I hope I’m going somewhere warm,’ I say. ‘Because I’m hardly dressed for the season. Not that I need to worry about getting a head cold’
The fashion designer fears that hostility to immigration risks undermining the creative industries, one of the most successful parts of Britain’s economy
I look to our companionable tree for consolations. A reminder of rootedness has settled about us. The gentle sway of the birch tells me to stay focused
From Ben Macintyre on history to John Sutherland on literary fiction
James Nesbitt is able to catch every nuance of pain in this BBC series about a couple whose child goes missing in France
Men, Women & Children explores the perils of the internet with a sledgehammer-like subtlety; plus submarine drama Black Sea
One lucky Times+ member plus three guests will be flown over to the glorious resort of Andermatt in Switzerland for a holiday worth over £16,000
Since 2008, Stephen Fry has been exploring some of the most interesting aspects of the English language. Download the complete collection
Win a return British Airways flight for two to Europe, plus a three-night stay in a 4 star hotel for you and your guest, in one of 70 European destinations
Watch the exclusive event at which Times+ readers and Matthew Parriss grilled the former BBC Political Editor about his career and his first novel
We can help you widen your social circle or dip your toes into dating
Providing a secure, simple and efficient way of making international currency transfers whilst saving you money in the process.
Purchase your favourite prints from our famed cartoonists, as well as famous and popular photographs from The Times Archive