sale by auction

Around 360 objects in total will be put on sale by auction house Osenat on May 5, with other highlights including a lock of Napoleon's hair, a pair of his silk stockings and a long-sleeved shirt embroidered with the letter "N" in red stitching.

But if there aren’t any acceptable organizations stepping up to the plate, the property is then offered to the public for sale by auction.

Mr Cameron, 40, revealed he got up early in Houston - six hours behind UK time - to take part by phone in the sale by Auction House Scotland.

Federal officials working with the Manhattan district attorney’s office have seized on the festival to orchestrate a series of daily raids that have netted more than a half-dozen antiquities that the authorities say were looted overseas, then smuggled out for later sale by auction houses or dealers.

Sky said Osborne will announce the sale during his budget statement on Wednesday but the timing of the sale by auction was unclear with the broadcaster citing sources who said the process may not conclude for many months.