The director of the British Museum, Hartwig Fischer, has announced his resignation, following the reported theft of more than 1,500 items from the London institution’s collection two years ago, the BBC reported on Friday. Hartwig Fischer claims in a statement that it is clear that the museum “did not fully react as it should” when it learned of the thefts in 2021, having considered at the time that the theft reports were not very credible, so nothing was done.
Last week, the museum announced that it had fired one of its employees on suspicion of theft, and earlier this week, the Telegraph reported, citing museum officials, that more than 1,500 priceless items were missing.
“Over the past few days I have been looking in detail at the events surrounding the British Museum robbery and investigation. It is clear that the British Museum has not reacted as thoroughly as it should have reacted to the warnings of 2021 and the problem that the film has now revealed itself,” Hartwig Fischer said in the statement. in full. Responsibility for this failure must ultimately lie with the director.”
The official, who has held the position of director of the museum since 2016, said that he had submitted his resignation to the chairman of the board of directors, and that he would cease his duties once a temporary leadership system was established.
George Osborne, the museum’s chairman, said he had accepted Fisher’s resignation, believing he had acted “with honor in the face of the wrongs he had made”. “No one ever doubted Hartwig’s integrity, his dedication to his work, or his love for the museum,” he added.
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