The director of the British Museum, Hartwig Fischer, has introduced he’s stepping down with speedy impact following alleged thefts of artefacts from the central London establishment.
Mr Fischer stated the state of affairs is “of the utmost seriousness” and he has “sadly come to the conclusion” that his presence is “proving a distraction”.
The museum earlier sacked a senior curator after near 2,000 artefacts, value tens of millions of kilos, have been believed to have been stolen.
Mr Fischer stated it was “evident that the British Museum did not respond as comprehensively as it should have” in response to “warnings in 2021” about an issue that has now “fully emerged”.
“The responsibility for that failure must ultimately rest with the director,” he stated.
Mr Fishcer additionally stated he had “misjudged” some feedback he made about antiques vendor Ittai Gradel.
He added: “I wish to express my sincere regret and withdraw those remarks.”
Dr Gradel has stated his issues about misplaced objects have been ignored.
He stated: “I told them about the few items where I had absolute proof that they came from the British Museum. I said, ‘I have all the information you would require me, all the assistance, I’m entirely at your disposal’. They never contacted and now they’re trying to shoot the messenger,” he stated.
Mr Fishcer beforehand stated that an “individual who raised concerns” had “many more items in his possession”.
He added: “It’s frustrating that that was not revealed to us as it would have aided our investigations.”
Source: information.sky.com”