British Museum Director Resigns Over Stolen Treasures, Cites 'Lapses In Procedures'

British Museum director Fischer resigns, acknowledging negligence on missing items. Collections including Rosetta Stone and Parthenon Marbles impacted; staff dismissal and police alerted over thefts.

A general view of the British Museum.

British Museum Director Hartwig Fischer on Friday (August 25) stepped down following a series of thefts and acknowledged the institution's failure to address warnings about missing items, news agency AFP reported. Fischer, a German art historian, announced his immediate resignation, citing lapses in procedures that led to the disappearance of various artefacts. 

The British Museum, renowned for housing treasures like the Rosetta Stone and Parthenon Marbles, recently confirmed dismissing a staff member and notifying the police about "missing, stolen or damaged" items from its collection, including gold jewellery and gems dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century.

According to the AFP report, Fischer stated, "The responsibility for that failure must ultimately rest with the director. 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."

According to emails obtained by the BBC, the museum was notified by an antiquities dealer about items being sold on eBay in 2021 but ignored the report. The majority of the items affected were described as "small pieces kept in a storeroom belonging to one of the museum's collections," the report said.

None had recently been on public display, and they were kept primarily for academic and research purposes, it stated earlier, without going into further detail, as per the report. 

Though no arrests have been made, London's Metropolitan Police interviewed a man in connection with the thefts. Fischer had emphasised enhanced security measures and the involvement of external experts to compile a detailed account of the missing, damaged, or stolen items.

Founded in 1753, the British Museum holds a vast collection of around eight million objects. The institution has faced mounting calls to address contested items acquired during the British Empire era, including the famed Parthenon Marbles, which Greece has urged to be returned.

According to the report, the British Museum's chairman, George Osborne, expressed deep concern about the thefts and emphasised the importance of recovering the items, assessing preventative measures, and investing in security to prevent future incidents.

He also stated that the priority was to recover the items, determine what could have been done to prevent the theft, and "do whatever it takes, including investments in security and collection records, to ensure this doesn't happen again."