British Museum thefts may have begun in 1993

Further details of the theft of 2,000 Greek and Roman artefacts from the British Museum (BM) have emerged as the terms of a review of the organisation were published on its website yesterday.

The terms of reference for the British Museum Independent Collection, Security and Governance Review state that the “loss and/or damage of the affected objects occurred during the period from 1993 to 2022”, corresponding to the timeframe the alleged suspect was employed at the museum as a curator.

The document also names the review’s three co-chairs as Nigel Boardman (former trustee and lawyer), Lucy D'Orsi (Chief Constable of the British Transport Police) and Ian Karet (lawyer and charity law expert). 

They join senior BM employees David Bilson (Head of Security and Visitor Services), Mark Coady (Head of Internal Audit) and Thomas Harrison (Keeper of Greece and Rome) in investigating the thefts and liaising with the police.

The terms task the team with “identifying a complete list” of the missing items, noting “the ongoing detailed audit of affected objects is likely to take longer” than the scope of the review.  

In setting up procedures to recover the missing property, the terms suggest this could involve “civil litigation against persons suspected of possessing missing affected objects”.

The review will also examine the “failures of controls, processes or policies” that enabled the thefts, as well as the actions taken by the board in response to the allegations of losses.

The review report will be presented at the December meeting of trustees. It will also be shared with the Secretary of State at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, Lucy Frazer, and her Permanent Secretary, Susannah Storey.

It will, however, be “kept confidential” though the trustees reserve the right to publish it in whole or part with the approval of the Co-Chairs.