Sir Keir Starmer ruled out discussing a return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece in his meeting with his Greek counterpart on Tuesday despite claims from Athens that progress had been made on the issue.

Secret discussions have taken place between George Osborne, the chair of the British Museum, and Greece's prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the contested sculptures.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer signaled to his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis that the UK government wouldn’t block a potential deal to hand back the Parthenon sculptures, people familiar with the matter said.