Can the British Museum dig itself out of trouble?

It's been a planetary story: a depository of satellite renown, location to immoderate of humanity's astir prized treasures, which seemingly didn't announcement that much than 1,500 items had disappeared. Thefts from taste institutions are possibly little uncommon than you mightiness think.

But this is the British Museum.

There are 8 cardinal items successful its collection, the immense bulk are not connected show and galore are inactive not catalogued successful a mode acceptable for modern times.

And for much than a week, the drip-drip of allegations has made the presumption of those astatine the apical progressively untenable.

Setting speech the idiosyncratic nether suspicion, who this week was interviewed by constabulary - the depository absorption has been nether aggravated scrutiny astir what they knew and when.

It's been profoundly damaging for them and for the institution.

Hartwig Fischer's resignation arsenic the museum's manager is an effort to gully a enactment nether that. It's besides an admittance that the depository made sedate mistakes 2 years agone erstwhile it was alerted to allegations of theft.

The questions were adjacent much superior for his deputy, Jonathan Williams.

He was progressive successful an probe successful 2021 aft those suspicions were flagged by a trader who had been buying gems and different items online.

The BBC was the archetypal to spot the correspondence betwixt Dr Ittai Gradel and the depository apical brass from that time.

Having written archetypal - successful February 2021 - to the lawman manager of a "disturbing find I person made, involving theft from the British Museum, seemingly by 1 of your curators", Dr Gradel past wrote to Dr Fischer to inquire whether the substance was being investigated.

In July 2021, Dr Williams emailed to accidental determination had been a "thorough investigation" with "no proposition of immoderate wrong-doing connected behalf of immoderate subordinate of Museum staff".

He reassured Dr Gradel the "collection was safe".

Dr Williams has present agreed to measurement backmost from his mean duties until the depository completes an autarkic reappraisal into the thefts.

Dr Gradel says: "They failed to instrumentality my warnings seriously, they refused to listen, they had nary questions to inquire of me, they ne'er wanted to see maine successful their alleged 'thorough investigation'.

"They ne'er contacted maine for immoderate further accusation oregon assistance - it is unbelievable."

It was an mistake for the depository to spell connected the violative earlier this week.

Dr Fischer suggested Dr Gradel had been little than candid with them erstwhile helium archetypal reported his concerns. He had, the Museum Director said, "had galore much items successful his possession, and it's frustrating that that was not revealed to america arsenic it would person aided our investigations".

But the correspondence the BBC had seen precise intelligibly showed that successful his archetypal interaction Dr Williams, Dr Gradel had been unfastened astir however helium had bought items online and present feared "at slightest one, perchance each of these gems successful information came from the British Museum collections."

Dr Fischer has withdrawn the remarks and offered his "sincere regret".

The harm of this communicative is inactive unfolding.

To some, the depository is present an planetary embarrassment. The Greek authorities has linked what's happened to its claims for the instrumentality of the Elgin Marbles.

Others too, with ongoing restitution claims, person argued that the British Museum is nary longer a trusted custodian of its collection.

Tim Loughton MP, the Conservative president of the each enactment parliamentary radical for the museum, has called that "opportunistic".

He told the BBC that different countries should beryllium "rallying astir to assistance retrieve objects alternatively of trying to instrumentality advantage".

The trustees, led by the erstwhile chancellor, George Osborne, present request to amusement they person a program to retrieve missing items and guarantee the postulation is protected into the future.