British Museum: stolen items worth 'millions' after staff member sacked as over 1000 items went missing

The director of the British Museum, Hartwig Fischer has resigned after the alleged theft of items worth “millions of pounds”.

The number of stolen items the British Museum is “closer to 2,000” with reports revealing that a member of staff at the British Museum was sacked last week after precious items were reported "missing, stolen or damaged".

The items include gold, jewellery and gems of semi-precious stones - the majority of which were kept in a storeroom and belonged to one of the museum's collections. The Times reports these items were stolen over a period of two decades.

The items dated from the 15th Century BC to the 19th Century AD and some of them ended up on eBay, being sold for considerably less than their actual estimated value. They were mainly used for academic and research work and none had recently been on public display.

British Museum director Hartwig Fischer has resigned following the scandal, revealing that “it was evident the museum did not respond as comprehensively as it should have” in response to “warnings in 2021” about a problem that has now “fully emerged”.

In a report from PA, the museum’s board of trustees accepted the German art historians resignation, with former chancellor George Osborne, chairman of trustees saying Fischer had “acted honourably” and that “no one has ever doubted Hartwig’s integrity, his dedication to his job, or his love for the museum.”

Fischer said in a statement: “Over the last few days I have been reviewing in detail the events around the thefts from the British Museum and the investigation into them.

“It is evident that the British Museum did not respond as comprehensively as it should have in response to the warnings in 2021, and to the problem that has now fully emerged.

“The responsibility for that failure must ultimately rest with the director.”

Legal action is being taken against the staff member who was fired. The Economic Crime Command of the Metropolitan Police is investigating but no arrests have been made and the British Museum has also started an independent review of security.

The number of the stolen items is now believed to be “well over 1,000″ and “closer to 2,000”, with a value running into “millions of pounds”, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The items have not recently been on public display and were kept in a storeroom, mainly used for research and academic work, the museum previously said.

It appears “increasingly likely” that the museum might never know exactly what has been stolen because of “gaps in its inventory,” the paper said.

An independent review of security has been launched and the matter is also under investigation by the economic crime command of the Metropolitan Police.

A museum source told the Telegraph that the directorate’s handling of the case has been “negligent and incompetent” and that evidence presented to them was ignored.

An antiquities expert reportedly told the museum three years ago that items from its collection were being offered for sale on eBay, with one Roman object, valued at £25,000 to £50,000 by dealers, offered for just £40.

Former trustee Sir Nigel Boardman and British Transport Police Chief Constable Lucy D'Orsi will be leading an independent review and will make recommendations on future security arrangements.

Sir Nigel said: "The British Museum has been the victim of theft and we are absolutely determined to use our review in order to get to the bottom of what happened and ensure lessons are learnt. We are working alongside the Metropolitan Police."

Earlier in the week, Osborne, revealed that trustees were "extremely concerned” when they learnt “items of the collection had been stolen".

He added: "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.

"Our priority is now threefold: first, to recover the stolen items; second, to find out what, if anything, could have been done to stop this; and third, to do whatever it takes, with investment in security and collection records, to make sure this doesn't happen again."

The British Museum declined to comment while the police investigation is on-going.