British Museum 'thief' is curator of 35 years 'who put priceless items on Ebay'
A senior curator is believed to have put priceless artefacts on eBay from the British Museum where he worked for 35 years.
Peter John Higgs, 56, was based in the Greek sections of the institution. The top London attraction had said it had launched a probe of its security stating a staff member was dismissed, with legal action planned against them. Missing items include gold jewellery and semi-precious stones, as well as glass dating back to 1500 BC all the way up to the 19th century AD, and were taken over a "significant period of time".
The museum says the lost, stolen or damaged items are smaller pieces which were not recently on public display and were mainly used for research. An investigation has also been launched by the Metropolitan Police's economic crime unit. Mr Higgs is believed to have been named to museum bosses three years ago after they went up for sale on eBay.
An expert had spotted the pieces on auction and reported it but despite the tip-off in 2020, no action was taken until this year when the long-serving staff member was sacked. He has not been arrested by police but was dismissed after items were found to be 'missing, stolen or damaged'.
His family though insists he is innocent. His son Greg reportedly said: "He's not done anything. He's not happy about it at all. He's lost his job and his reputation and I don't think it was fair. It couldn't have been [him]. I don't think there is even anything missing as far as I'm aware."
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Talking to The Times he continued: "He worked there for what, 35 years without any incidents. They relied on him for so much stuff. And then, yeah, I don't know what changed. He's devastated about it, because it's his life's work, basically. I've never known somebody who's so passionate about what he did. I mean, he's a world expert in his field."
Born and raised in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Mr Higgs studied archaeology at the University of Liverpool before joining the British Museum in the late 1980 and was there for over 30 years.
Meanwhile, Christopher Marinello, a lawyer and founder of Art Recovery International, told the Telegraph: "From a historical perspective, these artefacts are priceless." But he fears they will be irredeemable if they are in the hands of criminals.
He said: "That is the great shame of these criminals, they don't think of this priceless quality. They think of quick cash. They will tend to melt down gold as quickly as possible, and have the gems recut. Look at the Henry Moore statue that was melted down for the value of the raw metal. There is no thought of art – criminals are unsophisticated in this sense. That is the great tragedy of these incidents."
Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum, has said that security has now been stepped up following the disappearance of the items. He said: "The museum apologises for what has happened, but we have now brought an end to this - and we are determined to put things right. We have already tightened our security arrangements and we are working alongside outside experts to complete a definitive account of what is missing, damaged and stolen. This will allow us to throw our efforts into the recovery of objects."
An independent review will be led by former museum trustee Sir Nigel Boardman, and Lucy D’Orsi, Chief Constable of the British Transport Police. George Osborne, Chair of the British Museum, said: "The Trustees of the British Museum were extremely concerned when we learnt earlier this year that items of the collection had been stolen.
"The Trustees have taken decisive action to deal with the situation, working with the team at the Museum. We called in the police, imposed emergency measures to increase security, set up an independent review into what happened and lessons to learn, and used all the disciplinary powers available to us to deal with the individual we believe to be responsible.
“Our priority is now threefold: first, to recover the stolen items; second, to find out what, if anything, could have been done to stop this; and third, to do whatever it takes, with investment in security and collection records, to make sure this doesn’t happen again. This incident only reinforces the case for the reimagination of the Museum we have embarked upon. It’s a sad day for all who love our British Museum, but we’re determined to right the wrongs and use the experience to build a stronger Museum.”
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