London’s British Museum has sacked a member of staff and started an independent review of security after items from its collection were reported “missing, stolen or damaged”.
The majority of the items were small pieces kept in a storeroom. None of them had been on public display of late, and were kept mainly for academic and research purposes.
They include gold jewellery and gems of semi-precious stones and glass dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD.
In a statement, the museum said it will be taking legal action against the dismissed employee and the Met Police’s Economic Crime Command is investigating.
The British Museum’s independent review will be led by former trustee Sir Nigel Boardman and Lucy D’Orsi, chief constable of the British Transport Police.
They will provide recommendations regarding future security arrangements and begin “a vigorous programme to recover the missing items”, the statement said.
Boardman said it will be “a painstaking job, involving internal and external experts, but this is an absolute priority – however long it takes – and we are grateful for the help we have already received”.
“The trustees of the British Museum were extremely concerned when we learnt earlier this year that items of the collection had been stolen,” said George Osborne, the British Museum’s chair. “We called in the police, imposed emergency measures to increase security, set up an independent review into what happened and lessons to learn, and used all the disciplinary powers available to us to deal with the individual we believe to be responsible.”
Police investigating “highly unusual” incident
The institution will work to recover the stolen items, find out if anything could have been done to prevent the incident, and make sure it doesn’t happen again, Osborne added.
“It’s a sad day for all who love our British Museum, but we’re determined to right the wrongs and use the experience to build a stronger museum,” he said.
Hartwig Fischer, the museum’s director, said the incident is “highly unusual”.
He added: “I know I speak for all colleagues when I say that we take the safeguarding of all the items in our care extremely seriously.
“The museum apologises for what has happened, but we have now brought an end to this – and we are determined to put things right. We have already tightened our security arrangements and we are working alongside outside experts to complete a definitive account of what is missing, damaged and stolen.”
