Going once...

Isn't this story of Jane Austen's ring a bit weird?  It was bought at auction last year by an American celebrity who I imagine few people in this country have ever heard of - but that's beside the point. She outbid everybody else, so now the ring is hers surely?  Well, yes and no, it appears.  The Culture Minister (did you know we had such a thing?) has stepped in and forbidden her from taking it out if the country - in the hope it seems that some UK buyer will come forward and "save it for the nation". Several questions spring to mind - why was it allowed to be put up at auction if this was always the intention, should it be bought by a foreigner, or at the very least should it not have been made clear that it was being sold with this condition attached to it, which might well have resulted in it commanding a much lower price. And suppose a UK buyer is found - what if the lady doesn't want to sell? Can she be prevented from taking it home on a permanent basis?  Can the Government override basic contract law?