A member of staff at the British Museum has been sacked and police are investigating after a number of items from its collection were found to be “missing, stolen or damaged”.
In a statement, the museum said the items included “gold jewellery and gems of semi-precious stones and glass dating from the 15th Century BC to the 19th Century AD”.
None of the stolen items had recently been on public display, and were kept primarily for academic and research purposes.
“This is a highly unusual incident,” said museum director Hartwig Fischer.
Security has already been tightened, he added, and the museum is “working alongside outside experts to complete a definitive account of what is missing, damaged and stolen”.
Former chancellor George Osborne, chair of the British Museum, said: “The trustees of the British Museum were extremely concerned when we learned earlier this year that items of the collection had been stolen.
“The trustees have taken decisive action to deal with the situation, working with the team at the Museum.
“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.
“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.”
