In 2019 the country’s culture minister, on a visit to the museum, requested their return.
Campaigners have now submitted a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) arguing that the museum has failed to disclose key details of internal discussions about the tabots in response to a freedom of information request. Returning Heritage, a not-for-profit organisation that collates information on cultural restitution, submitted the FoI request in August 2023.
The law firm Leigh Day, which submitted the ICO complaint on Returning Heritage’s behalf, said it believed the museum wrongly relied on certain permitted exemptions to FoI as justification for withholding material.
Leigh Day has previously drawn up a legal opinion that it says shows the items can be legally returned.
