British Museum director resigns over missing items

Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Hartwig Fischer, the director of the British Museum, said Friday that he's stepping down from his position a week after the announcement that multiple treasures in the institution's collection were missing.

Fischer said he'll depart his role as soon as the museum's board of trustees agrees on a new leadership arrangement.

"The situation facing the museum is of the utmost seriousness. I sincerely believe it will come through this moment and emerge stronger, but sadly I have come to the conclusion that my presence is proving a distraction," Fischer said in a statement. "That is the last thing I would want. Over the last seven years I have been privileged to work with some of the most talented and dedicated public servants. The British Museum is an amazing institution, and it has been the honor of my life to lead it."

The British Museum announced Aug. 16 that it launched an independent review after officials discovered in 2021 that items were missing, stolen or damaged. The museum dismissed one staff member in connection with the situation and announced legal action will be taken. The Metropolitan Police has also launched its own investigation.

The museum said most of the missing items were small and kept in storage, not on public display. Among the items were gold jewelry, semi-precious stones and glass from between the 15th and 19th centuries.

"This is a highly unusual incident. I know I speak for all colleagues when I say that we take the safeguarding of all the items in our care extremely seriously," Fischer said in an Aug. 16 statement.

Fischer said the museum had tightened security measures in the wake of the incident. On Friday, he added it was clear the museum hadn't responded "as comprehensively as it should have" when the thefts were first discovered in 2021.

In his resignation announcement, Fischer said he regretted remarks her made criticizing antiquities dealer Ittai Gradel, who discovered that the objects had been offered for sale on eBay and warned the museum in 2021. The museum investigated the report in 2021 and determined at the time that all objects were accounted for, according to correspondence reviewed by The New York Times.

Fischer then accused Gradel of withholding information about other missing objects, which Gradel said was "an outright lie," the BBC reported.

"I also misjudged the remarks I made earlier this week about Dr. Gradel. I wish to express my sincere regret and withdraw those remarks," Fischer said.