Sir Trevor Phillips, businessman and closely linked to the conservative think tank Policy Exchange, says in a report ‘Principles of Restitution – A Guide to Stewardship’ that claims for the artefacts’ return ‘vary greatly in legitimacy’ due to ‘highly disputed’ historical and political arguments.
The sculptures were crafted in Nigeria in the 1500s and stolen by British troops 300 years later.
In 2022, Oxbridge and Cambridge universities approved the return of more than 200 of their Benin Bronzes, part of a collection of some 5,000 plaques and sculptures.
And the British Museum has since been under pressure to do the same.
Sir Trevor’s co-written report, titled Principles of Restitution, said the people of Benin traded slaves with Portuguese merchants in exchange for the brass used in many of the artefacts.
The paper calls for UK museums to retain artefacts like the Benin Bronzes and the Elgin Marbles, while it identifies that in specific circumstances, such as the recent return of an aboriginal totem pole, restitution can be justified.
And the slaves’ descendants, many of whom reside in the UK and US, also have a cultural claim to the sculptures, the report said.
Earlier, Sir Trevor Philips warned against the Church of England’s reparations plan (known as ‘Project Spire’). In his view, it is ‘historically uninformed and may lack legal justification’.
