EGYPT’S former minister of antiquities has accused the British Museum of corruption and demanded the return of the iconic Rosetta Stone.

Dr Zahi Hawass called for it to be returned during a discussion about the scandal over 2,000 artefacts that have been stolen from the museum or have gone missing.

After the historian Rafe Heydel-Mankoo referred to corruption in the Middle East, Dr Hawass said: “What do you mean by corruption? Corruption can happen in England and in any place, but in my country there is no corruption.

“Number two, there was no bombing at the Cairo Museum, there was a bombing outside of it. But it is a shame that the British Museum is selling some artefacts.

“This shows that the British Museum is not honest about protecting our monuments and therefore my position is asking for the return of the Rosetta Stone…the British Museum is not honest enough to preserve the Rosetta Stone.”

In a discussion during Breakfast with Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster on GB News, he continued: “Listen, I don’t understand. He’s saying that in Egypt, monuments have been destroyed by looters.

“What do you mean? Nothing happened like that. I’m saying, you are saying that the British and the French did a lot for the understanding of the monuments. I agree.

“But we are in a [situation] now at the British Museum – it’s not honest enough to keep the monuments there…

“We need the stone to come back because the British museum is not honest enough to preserve it.”

He added: “I don’t understand how you are [not] ashamed of having some artefacts stolen from the British Museum. It is a shame – corruption, this is corruption!”