A Guardian newspaper report this week reveals that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson while Lord Mayor of London wrote in a 2012 that in “an ideal world it is of course true that the Parthenon Marbles would never have been removed from the Acropolis and it would now be possible to view them in situ.”

Mr Johnson, who was then Lord Mayor of London the city that was to host the Olympic in 2012, was responding to a letter from George Hinos, the then-head of New Democracy in Ilia region of Peloponissos that includes ancient Olympia.

In his letter dated 28 March, 2012, Mr Hinos pleaded “in the name of justice and morality” for Mr Johnson to “begin the procedure for the return of the Greek sculptures”.

Mr Hinos’ letter was written just weeks before the Olympic flame was to be lit in Olympia and handed to the British delegation of which Mr Johnson was a member.

In his response to Mr Hinos, Mr Johnson however concluded: “Since the glorious sculptures have been in London now for more than 250 years and since they form the centre piece of the collections of the greatest museum in this city, it would be grievous and irremediable loss if they went elsewhere.

“Much as I sympathise with case for the restitution to Athens, I feel that on balance I must defend the interests of London,” Mr Johnson wrote on City Hall paper.

READ MORE: Greek PM Mitsotakis renews calls for return of Parthenon Marbles in letter to Mail on Sunday

In his talks with Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis last week Mr Johnson said the matter was for the British Museum to decide.

The Greek government resolved to win the support of the British public to its cause and a weekend YouGov poll showed that 56 percent of people interviewed were in favour of the marbles being repatriated to be displayed in the Acropolis Museum.

A spokesman for the British prime minister said in response to the poll that: “As the prime minister told the Greek prime minister last week, all decisions on the Parthenon sculptures are a matter for the British Museum.

“It is the longstanding position of the prime minister and the UK government that the Parthenon sculptures were acquired legally in accordance with the law at the time.”

Meanwhile Dame Janet Suzman, the chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM) noted in an ekathemerini article that there was a shift in attitude in Britain towards the return of the sculptures following coverage given by two leading right-wing newspapers the Mail and The Telegraph.

“The Mail quotes Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ eloquent case for the return in full, and the Telegraph offers a huge, unmissable, two-page spread offering the pros and cons of a return,” wrote Dame Suzman.

“PM Mitsotakis covers every relevant point about the continuing stubborn possession by the British of the world’s finest pieces of ancient sculpture, while appealing warmly to the better nature of the man in No 10. Neither he nor the nation knows whether that man even has a better nature, but we must hope that he has,” she wrote.

“PM Mitsotakis covers every relevant point about the continuing stubborn possession by the British of the world’s finest pieces of ancient sculpture, while appealing warmly to the better nature of the man in No 10. Neither he nor the nation knows whether that man even has a better nature, but we must hope that he has.

“A good sign – albeit a tiny one – is that Prime Minister Boris Johnson told PM Mitsotakis that it is not a governmental issue but one for the British Museum to attend to. This is nonsense because it is indeed an intergovernmental issue, but it at once moves the matter to a more arm’s-length distance from his office.”