British arts minister Alan Howarth announced the creation of a new panel to further investigate the Nazi provenance of art in British collections. But he also tried to defuse the recent publicity, declaring: “In fact, the museums and galleries were simply announcing findings about uncertain provenance. It does not follow that because there is a gap in the recorded history of a particular item it must have been looted. Whatever wrongs were done in the Nazi era, works of art held in our public collections were – we should start by assuming – acquired in good faith and have probably been held for the public benefit.” – The Guardian