The week began with Rishi Sunak getting into a diplomatic spat with Greece over the Elgin Marbles. The Prime Minister cancelled a meeting with Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the last minute on Monday because the Greek PM had wanted to talk about the return of the ancient sculptures on display in the British Museum.
It prompted Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to accuse Mr Sunak of “losing his marbles” in a joke-filled PMQs speech about his handling of the fallout.
And King Charles wearing a tie emblazoned with the Greek flag at the COP28 climate conference sparked speculation he was sending a coded message to the PM about the row. Buckingham Palace suggested it was a random choice.
The ancient statues have been in the museum's collection since 1832. Greece maintains they were stolen by Lord Elgin and taken to Britain.
But there are laws that prevent their removal and the British Museum has always argued it is best placed to look after historical artefacts.
However revelations earlier this year that around 2,000 pieces in its collection had gone missing reignited the debate about whether it really is the safest place for treasures that were acquired from countries around the world.
But it was another theft, or loss, that was being talked about in London this week - Susan Hall's Oyster card.
Tory Mayoral Candidate's Deep Pockets
On Monday afternoon, the Conservative Mayor of London contender was pickpocketed on the Tube. Or was she?
Susan Hall claimed the incident showed crime was rife on the London Underground.
But an interview on LBC on Tuesday left a lot of listeners thinking she may have simply dropped her Oyster card.
Ms Hall revealed a man had returned her wallet, including her card and £40 in cash, to her just hours after she had reported it stolen.
So actually a good news story 🫣, that a Londoner did his civic duty and returned a dropped wallet. Thank you and well done to that person 👏 #ProudToBeALondoner https://t.co/JtrdilBjFW
— Paul Scully MP (@scullyp) November 28, 2023
As Tory MP Paul Scully put it this appeared to actually be "a good news story" of a Londoner doing "his civic duty" and returning "a dropped wallet".
Ms Hall claimed her "very, very deep" coat pocket meant it was unlikely it could have just slipped out, prompting one Labour staffer to quip: "‘Londoners will need deeper pockets than Susan to pay for her policies.".
By Thursday, the Standard had tracked down the man who returned Ms Hall's wallet after spotting it stuck between two seats on a Jubilee line train.Retired businessman Ajiz Andani said it appeared to have been dropped.
Cost of Grenfell Tragedy Continues
The Government published a contract worth £21.3million for a company to provide three years of security and upkeep to Grenfell Tower.
Westminster took ownership of the site from Kensington and Chelsea council in July 2019, until its long-term future could be determined by the community.
Meanwhile, the findings of the inquiry into what caused the disaster have been delayed again and will not be published before April.
It means the families and loved ones of the 72 people who died will have waited seven years to find out the official causes of the devastating inferno.
Potential criminal prosecutions for manslaughter, fraud and health and safety offences will also be delayed.
The impact of the fire has stretched far beyond north Kensington, where the shell of the 24-storey tower still looms over London's richest borough.
Hundreds of thousands of leaseholders have been left trapped in unsellable flats, or slapped with devastating bills to make their homes safe, after the blaze exposed building safety risk.
The bill to fix the flammable cladding used on high rises across the UK is estimated to run to £15billion.
