CULTURE Secretary Jeremy Hunt has urged the Church Commissioners to ensure the Zurbaran paintings continue to be enjoyed by the public.

The Government stepped into the controversy for the first time yesterday, in reply to a 3,000-signature petition calling for the £15m paintings to stay in Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland – their home for 260 years.

The move immediately raised hopes that pressure on the Commissioners to think again – from local people, leading figures from the worlds of art and entertainment and, now, ministers – will force a U-turn.

It came as The Northern Echo learnt that a decision on the fate of the Zurbarans could be announced within weeks.

Mr Hunt’s intervention was welcomed by Helen Goodman, the Labour MP for Bishop Auckland, who drew up and lodged the petition, presented in February.

Ms Goodman said: “The Church Commissioners must listen to local people.”

In his response, published in Hansard, the official Commons record, Mr Hunt said the future of the Zurbarans was a matter for the Church Commissioners and that he could not “influence decisions”.

But he said: “The Government recognises the strong support in the North- East and elsewhere for preserving Auckland Castle and its wonderful collection of paintings by Francisco de Zurbaran.

“The paintings are not just important works in their own right, but have become important symbols of religious, ethnic and social tolerance, issues which were all highly significant at the time and which remain so today.

“The Government hopes that a solution can be found to satisfy the needs of the Church and ensure the castle and paintings continue to be enjoyed by the public.”

The comments went further than David Cameron’s hint, in a letter to Ms Goodman, that the Government would slap an export ban on the 13 paintings if they were judged to be of “national importance”.

The ban would prevent a foreign buyer from taking them abroad – creating vital breathing space for campaigners, or an art institution, to snap them up instead.

The National Gallery has suggested that Auckland Castle could be turned into a major art attraction, with paintings loaned from its home in London.

Meanwhile, a source said the commissioners were poised to announce the fate of the Zurbarans, having pulled them from an auction last December. The commissioners said the money raised could support an extra ten priests in poorer areas – but a working party, led by the Lord Lieutenant of County Durham, is exploring alternatives to the sale.