An MP has called on ministers to strengthen export controls to allow significant fossils to be classified as national treasures, following the sale of one of Britain's best collections to an overseas museum.
A collection of hundreds of specimens from the UK's Jurassic Coast, including ichthyosaurs, was sold to the Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi for what one source described as an "eight-figure sum". The collection had been unearthed on Dorset beaches.
A Guardian investigation revealed the sale last week, prompting the MP to argue that stronger protections are needed to keep such items in the country.