THE BRITISH MUSEUM has dismissed a member of staff as it confirmed that it discovered several items to be missing, stolen or damaged. 

The museum has launched an independent security review in addition to an investigation by the economic crime command of London’s Metropolitan Police.

The items include gold jewellery, gems of semi-precious stones and glass dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD.

The museum described them as small pieces, which were not recently on public display and were mainly used for research and academic work. 

An independent review is to be led by former trustee Nigel Boardman and Lucy D’Orsi, Chief Constable of the British Transport Police, who will provide recommendations regarding future security arrangements, and start “a vigorous programme to recover the missing items”, according to the museum.

The majority of the items were small pieces kept in a storeroom belonging to one of the museum’s collections.

None had recently been on public display and were being kept primarily for academic and research purposes. 

Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum, said: “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.”

The museum’s chair, George Osborne, said trustees were “extremely concerned” to learn earlier this year that items had been stolen.

“The trustees have taken decisive action to deal with the situation, working with the team at the museum,” Osborne said.

“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.”