The Institute of Digital Archaeology (IDA), which wants to use technology to create a replica of the collection as a possible solution to the drawn-out international dispute over their ownership, told The Guardian it would apply for an injunction requiring the museum to allow the project to go ahead.

Museum authorities have accused the IDA of breaking visitor guidelines by carrying out some unauthorised scanning when their official request was denied.

For decades, Greece – latterly backed by Unesco – has called for the marble sculptures to be returned, disputing the legality of their removal from Athens to London in the early 19th century.

The Oxford-based IDA believes that the creation of a high-quality replica to remain in the British Museum could make the return of the originals to Greece possible.

Director Roger Michel previously told The Times: “The goal of the project is to find a way to break the 200-year logjam. When Charles takes the throne, he’ll be the great-grandson of the Greek king. I’d like to see an end to this dispute between these countries whose histories are interwoven.”