He was also coy when asked whether a permanent loan arrangement would be acceptable to Greece, saying: “I wouldn’t like to go into the details of an arrangement because these discussions are delicate, but I would like to say on record that I intend to raise the issue with Boris and that I think the British Government has a role to play.

“Refusing to discuss the topic seems to me, given the context of everything that has been happening in terms of the return of cultural treasures, to be rather an anachronistic approach.”

Anyone who has visited the state-of-the-art Acropolis Museum, opened in 2009, is unlikely to disagree that the Parthenon sculptures would be at least as safe in Athens as they are in London. A leaky roof recently forced the closure of the British Museum gallery in which they are currently housed. Opinion polls have suggested there is public support for giving them back.

Some opponents of the marbles’s return fear that the British Museum – which has around six million visitors per year – would gradually be emptied, because it would then face similar demands from other countries which have claims on prime exhibits – including the Rosetta Stone, the Easter Island statue and ancient Egyptian artifacts.

But the British Museum has shown recently that it is open to returning objects to their countries of origin, with a commitment to send Benin Bronzes to Nigeria once a suitable museum has been built.

“You have to be able to appreciate the beauty of the monument in its entirety,” Mr Mitsotakis insisted. 

“We are not just talking about any artefact. We are talking about an artefact that essentially was broken into two. Half of it is in Athens and half of it is in the British Museum, so we’re talking about restoring the unity of the monument.

“It would be a fantastic statement by what Boris calls Global Britain if they were to move on this and look at it through a completely different lens”.

A British Government spokesman said: “The UK has a long-standing position on this issue – the Parthenon Sculptures were acquired legally in accordance with the law at the time. 

“The British Museum operates independently of the Government and free from political interference. All decisions relating to collections are taken by the museum’s trustees.”

Strong ties with Britain

Marbles aside, Mr Mitsotakis is eager to point out that Greece and Britain have bonds that will never be broken.

He referenced the country’s current bicentennial celebrations of its independence, won with the help of the British Armed Forces, and of two world wars in which both countries “were on the right side of history”.

He beamed with pride at his father’s wartime exploits with the resistance in Crete during the Nazi occupation, and of Mitsotakis Snr’s friendship with Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor, the legendary special operations executive officer, who helped organise the resistance while disguised as a shepherd in a mountain hideaway.

His familial experiences of war have informed his own strong line on defence, an issue that is never far from the top of the agenda in a country that still has national service and lives under constant tension with its much larger neighbour, Turkey.

He would “very much” like to see an EU Army, “even if that means a coalition of the willing” – and has just signed a bilateral defence pact with France, which has further increased tension with Turkey, as all three countries are members of Nato.

He insisted the mutual assistance pact with France “is making Europe safer” by enhancing the defence capabilities of both countries and “adding assets to Nato”, although he does not offer to explain whether those weapons would ever be used against a fellow Nato member.

Another issue on which he takes a strong line is Northern Ireland. He is in lockstep with Brussels over the need to protect the Protocol which Boris Johnson is threatening to rip up, saying: “The European Union is going to be fully united when it comes to addressing this issue and if things got very tense, I think this would clearly impact the relationship between the EU and all member states.”

This interview took place before the end of Cop26, meaning Mr Mitsotakis – whose country was ravaged by forest fires this summer which were blamed on climate change – cannot assess its overall success.

However, he wants Greece, with its abundance of sun, wind and waves, to be a global leader on the path to net zero, with the help of British know-how when it comes to wind farms and teleworking.