British Museum director resigns following alleged thefts of artefacts

The director of the British Museum is stepping down as soon as a replacement is appointed.

Hartwig Fischer announced he was quitting days after it emerged a curator had been sacked over missing artefacts.

He said it was clear the museum didn’t respond “as comprehensively as it should” when it was warned about potential thefts two years ago. And he apologised to the whistleblower.