British Museum director resigns over stolen treasures

LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) – The director of the British Museum resigned on Friday after admitting flaws in his investigation into the theft of items from his collection.

Hartwig Fischer, a German art historian who has run the museum since 2016, said there could have been a better response to warnings that an employee might have been stealing items and that the fault “ultimately” must lie with him.

“It is clear that the British Museum did not respond as fully as it should,” he said in a statement.

The British Museum, one of London’s most popular tourist attractions, said last week that a staff member had been fired after items stolen from a warehouse were found, including gold jewelry and gems dating back to the 15th century BC. to the 19th century AD

Police said Thursday they had interviewed, but not charged, an unnamed man over the stolen artifacts.

Fischer withdrew statements about the art dealer who first alerted museum bosses to the stolen items. He expressed his “sincere regret” over the “misjudged” comments.

Earlier this week, Fischer said Ittai Gradel, an antiquities dealer, withheld information about the scale of the stolen items when he contacted the museum.

The museum’s board of trustees, chaired by former British finance minister George Osborne, accepted Fischer’s resignation.

“We’re going to fix what went wrong,” Osborne said. “The museum has a mission that endures through generations. We will learn, restore trust, and deserve to be admired once again.”

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