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London’s British Museum has sacked an employee after several items from its collection were reported 'missing, stolen or damaged'
Lauren Heath-Jones | Planet Attractions | 17 Aug 2023
The missing items include gold, jewellery and semi-precious stones Credit: Canva
The British Museum has dismissed an employee after several items from the London institution’s collection were reported “missing, stolen or damaged.”
The missing items include gold, jewellery, glass and semi-precious stones dated between the 15th century BC and 19th century AD.
Most of the pieces had not been on public display for several years and were kept in a storage room and were kept primarily for research purposes.
Police are currently investigating the incident, while the museum has implemented emergency security measures and launched an independent review, led by British Transport Police chief constable Lucy D’Orsi and former museum trustee Sir Nigel Boardman.
Representatives from the British Museum said that the review will “kickstart a vigorous programme to recover the missing items”, as well as suggest increased security procedures.
“This is a highly unusual incident. We take the safeguarding of all the items in our care extremely seriously, said British Museum director Hartwig Fischer.
“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. This will allow us to throw our efforts into the recovery of objects.”
British Museum chair George Osborne added: “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 to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“This incident only reinforces the case for the reimagination of the museum we have embarked upon. 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.”
This is not the first time items from the museum’s collection have gone missing, with thefts going back to the 1970s, when several coins and medals were taken. In 1993, several Roman coins were taken during a break-in, while in 2002 a 2,500-year-old, 12cm-high Greek statue was stolen by a member of the public, leading to a security review.
In 2004, Chinese jewellery went missing. Meanwhile, in 2017 the museum revealed that a £750,000 (US$958,000, €879,000) diamond Cartier ring had been missing since 2011.
Heritage
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