British Museum thefts: What we know so far

The British Museum came nether unit this week aft it sacked a subordinate of unit implicit treasures reported "missing, stolen oregon damaged".

The museum, 1 of the nation's biggest tourer attractions, is dedicated to quality history, creation and culture, and is location to millions of invaluable objects.

Police are present investigating the theft of items including gold, jewellery and gems of semi-precious stones.

Here's what we cognize astir what has happened truthful far, arsenic good arsenic a look backmost astatine immoderate different large thefts.

It is understood the missing items were taken earlier this twelvemonth and implicit a "significant" play of time. Some of them ended up connected eBay, being sold for considerably little than their existent estimated value.

None of the treasures, which dated from the 15th Century BC to the 19th Century AD, had precocious been connected show and had been kept chiefly for world and probe purposes, the depository said. The bulk of them were kept successful a storeroom.

"This is simply a highly antithetic incident," said Mr Fischer. "I cognize I talk for each colleagues erstwhile I accidental that we instrumentality the safeguarding of each the items successful our attraction highly seriously.

"We person already tightened our information arrangements and we are moving alongside extracurricular experts to implicit a definitive relationship of what is missing, damaged and stolen."

Legal enactment is being taken against the unit subordinate who was sacked, added the museum, which has started its ain autarkic reappraisal of security.

However, the sacked subordinate of unit has not been identified arsenic the suspected thief.

London's Metropolitan Police is investigating the thefts but nary arrests person been made arsenic yet.

BBC News has not been capable to independently verify the individuality of erstwhile worker involved. We person contacted the depository and the constabulary but neither person confirmed their identity, oregon said precisely wherefore they were sacked, however the items went missing oregon what they were.

Among the treasures that person antecedently gone missing from the British Museum are a Cartier ringing worthy £750,000 and a 12cm marble head.

During the 1970s, the depository said a fig of historical coins and medals were stolen.

In 1993, Roman coins and jewellery worthy £250,000 were taken aft thieves broke successful via the roof.

In 2002, the depository reviewed information aft a 2,500-year-old Greek statue, believed to beryllium worthy astir £25,000 was stolen by a subordinate of the public.

The marble caput was taken from the Greek Archaic Gallery which had been unfastened to the nationalist without a imperishable defender connected duty.

In 2004, it was reported that 15 "historically important" Chinese artefacts - including jewels, ornate hairpins and fingernail guards - had been taken by a subordinate of the public.

In 2017, it was revealed that an costly Cartier diamond had really been missing since 2011.

High-profile depository thefts elsewhere include:

The British Museum has been nether expanding unit itself successful caller years to instrumentality items successful its postulation to their countries of origin.

They were removed by the diplomat and worker Lord Elgin successful the 19th Century and aboriginal bought by the British authorities and placed successful the British Museum.

In March, the Vatican returned 3 fragments of Athens' Parthenon temple it had kept for centuries.

Restitution issues much commonly use to countries which experienced assemblage conflict.

Ethiopia wants the British Museum to instrumentality ceremonial crosses, weapons, jewellery, ineffable altar tablets and different items taken from Maqdala successful the northbound of the state during British subject enactment successful 1868.

The Nigerian authorities has besides formally asked the depository to instrumentality 900 Benin Bronzes.

And ruler of Ghana's Asante radical has pressed the depository to instrumentality golden items successful its collection.

The British Museum was established by an Act of Parliament successful 1753 and is presently governed by the British Museum Act 1963.

Its main regulator is the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), which besides sponsors it. A non-departmental nationalist body, the depository operates astatine arm's magnitude from government, but is accountable to parliament.