Newcastle and the Horniman in south London followed an example set by Aberdeen and Cambridge by returning looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria.
Exeter handed sacred regalia to the Siksika Nation in Canada.
Oxford returned the remains of 18 indigenous people to Australia.
Manchester completed a landmark return of 174 objects to the to the Anindilyakwa community, who live on an archipelago in the Gulf of Carpentaria, off the northern coast of Australia.
The British Museum Act 1963 specifically forbids the museum from disposing of its holdings.
The National Heritage Act of 1983 prevents trustees of institutions, including the V&A, Science Museum and others, from deaccessioning objects unless they are duplicates or beyond repair.
It forces national institutions ‘forced into position of inertia’.
