British Museum safety claims 'opportunistic' - MP

Greek claims that the British Museum is not harmless aft a bid of thefts are "blatant opportunism", the seat of its cross-party radical has said.

MP Tim Loughton said it was "incredibly rare" for items to spell missing and the instauration was taking it "seriously".

But archaeologist Despoina Koutsoumba said the depository could nary longer assertion Greek practice was being protected.

The instauration said a unit subordinate had been sacked aft treasures were reported "missing, damaged oregon stolen".

Legal enactment is being taken by the depository against the unnamed subordinate of staff.

The Economic Crime Command of the Metropolitan Police is investigating but nary arrests person been made. The depository has besides started an autarkic reappraisal of security.

Items including gold, jewellery and gems of semi-precious stones are among those missing, though the depository has not specified which items successful particular.

It is present believed that much than 1,500 objects were stolen, damaged and destroyed, successful a situation that is threatening the institution's reputation.

According to the PA quality agency, the missing items are believed to person been taken implicit a "significant" play of time.

Mr Loughton told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that quality of items going missing from the postulation successful London was "damaging", but truthful excessively were claims the depository was not safe.

"What is peculiarly damaging is [the] blatant opportunism of the Greeks and others saying, 'Oh no, the British Museum is not safe'," helium said.

The Tory MP, who has been successful interaction with the museum, said it had undertaken a "tremendous magnitude of enactment cataloguing" items successful its postulation and had the astir online documentation successful the world.

"People privation to cognize the grade of the objects which person disappeared, what investigations took spot astatine the clip erstwhile assorted reports came successful and what is being done present due to the fact that different [it's] getting retired of hand," helium added.

His comments travel renewed calls by officials successful Greece for the instrumentality of the Parthenon sculptures - among the astir high-profile contested items successful the museum's collection.

Greece has agelong claimed they were illegally acquired during a play of overseas occupation.

Ms Koutsoumba, manager of the Association of Greek Archaeologists, told BBC Radio 4's World Tonight programme that it was "obvious" the sculptures would beryllium good protected successful Greece, not successful the museum.

"We are precise overmuch disquieted however galore Greek items were [among] these stolen items and we privation to archer the British Museum that they cannot anymore accidental that Greek taste practice is much protected successful the British Museum," she said.

"They person to instrumentality the Parthenon marbles backmost due to the fact that they are not harmless successful London."

She added that the imaginable information issues the thefts person exposed were a "problem for each museums successful the world".

"All museums successful the satellite person to larn what happened successful the British Museum truthful that if we person problems successful our information protocols [we can] alteration it," she said.

The BBC has besides seen correspondence showing that an creation trader alerted the depository to the alleged stolen items successful 2021.

Ittai Gradel alleged successful February 2021 helium had seen items online belonging to the museum, according to the correspondence.

Deputy manager Jonathan Williams responded successful July 2021 to Dr Gradel, saying "there was nary proposition of immoderate wrongdoing".

The museum's autarkic reappraisal is being led by erstwhile depository trustee Sir Nigel Boardman and Lucy D'Orsi, Chief Constable of British Transport Police.