Lord Inglewood
Main Page: Lord Inglewood (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Baroness Rawlings
My noble friend Lord Redesdale makes interesting points on the pieces and on eBay. It comes back to provenance. It is in the interests of both auctioneers and dealers to check that the provenance of items is acceptable to reduce any risk of prosecution for handling stolen goods or dealing in tainted or mended goods. However, the Government consider that the existing offences adequately satisfy the United Kingdom’s obligations under the 1970 UNESCO convention and would be wary of introducing further legislation unless there was a proven need to do so.
Lord Inglewood
My Lords, I declare an interest as chairman of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art. Bearing in mind the Minister’s reply to my noble friend Lord Renfrew, can she confirm that the review of treasure will include wide consultation, not least with my noble friend?
Baroness Rawlings
My noble friend Lord Inglewood makes a very good point and of course we will make certain that it does.