Rishi Sunak's snub to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis over 'Elgin Marbles' would make Alan Partridge cringe – Scotsman comment

Rishi Sunak refused to meet Kyriakos Mitsotakis, despite having held meetings with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Rishi Sunak meets Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 Summit last year (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak's petulant refusal to meet Greek premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis – over his remark that having some Parthenon sculptures in London and others in Athens was like the Mona Lisa had been cut in half – should be excruciatingly embarrassing to all concerned. Even Alan Partridge, were he Prime Minister, would have been ashamed.

In an attempt to appear tough on foreigners – a stance that, unfortunately, plays to a certain constituency – Sunak picked a needless fight with a Nato ally. It seems he sought to open another ‘culture war’ front with Labour, hoping they would be perceived as ‘weak’ on the question of keeping the so-called ‘Elgin Marbles’ and made the butt of tabloid jokes about losing them. Instead, he ended up looking weak, too thin-skinned to even hear Mitsotakis restate the long-standing Greek position.

Strangely, Sunak has held meetings with Mohammed bin Salman, despite US intelligence agencies concluding the Saudi crown prince had approved the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Turning away democrats while shaking hands with dictators? The ancient Athenians who built the Parthenon would have been appalled.