British Museum director Hartwig Fischer has said he will step down from his role immediately, after treasures were stolen from the London institution.
In a statement, he said it was evident the museum “did not respond as comprehensively as it should have” when it was alerted to the thefts in 2021.
Mr Fischer also withdrew remarks he made earlier this week about the art dealer who first alerted the museum.
The museum announced last week that it had sacked a member of staff after treasures were reported “missing, stolen or damaged”.
Earlier this week, Mr Fischer defended the museum’s investigation in 2021, when it had told antiques dealer Ittai Gradel that “all items were accounted for”.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
The original article contains 175 words, the summary contains 130 words. Saved 26%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
British Museum director Hartwig Fischer has said he will step down from his role immediately, after treasures were stolen from the London institution.
In a statement, he said it was evident the museum “did not respond as comprehensively as it should have” when it was alerted to the thefts in 2021.
Mr Fischer also withdrew remarks he made earlier this week about the art dealer who first alerted the museum.
The museum announced last week that it had sacked a member of staff after treasures were reported “missing, stolen or damaged”.
Earlier this week, Mr Fischer defended the museum’s investigation in 2021, when it had told antiques dealer Ittai Gradel that “all items were accounted for”.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
The original article contains 175 words, the summary contains 130 words. Saved 26%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!