British Museum 'has head in sand' over return of artefacts

Authors of major report accuse institution of hiding from issue of looted colonial-era objects

The authors of an influential report on colonial-era artefacts, which recommended a restitution programme to transfer hundreds of items from European institutions to Africa, have criticised the British Museum for acting like "an ostrich with its head in the sand".

The Senegalese economist Felwine Sarr and the French art historian Bi(C)ni(C)dicte Savoy, who were asked to write the report by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, after he said the return of artefacts would be a priority during his tenure, said the British Museum was not addressing the issue.