The head of the British Museum has resigned and his deputy has stepped back in the wake of a scandal over stolen artefacts that has prompted a police investigation.
Director Hartwig Fischer and deputy director Jonathan Williams both announced their decisions on Friday.
German art historian, Mr Fischer, said the situation facing the London museum was “of the utmost seriousness” and that responsibility for the failure “must ultimately rest with the director”.
The museum’s board of trustees accepted his resignation, with former chancellor George Osborne – chairman of trustees – saying Mr Fischer had “acted honourably” and that “no-one has ever doubted Hartwig’s integrity, his dedication to his job, or his love for the museum”.
The museum said Mr Fischer would step down “with immediate effect”, but later clarified he would step down once an interim leadership arrangement was in place.
The PA news agency understands the outcome of the interim arrangement is expected within days.
A statement from the British Museum later said Williams had agreed to “voluntarily step back” from his duties until the independent review into the thefts had concluded.
The museum said this would happen “with immediate effect”.
In his statement, Mr Fischer admitted the museum “did not respond as comprehensively as it should have in response to warnings in 2021” about the stolen artefacts.
“Over the last few days I have been reviewing in detail the events around the thefts from the British Museum and the investigation into them,” he said.
“It is evident that the British Museum did not respond as comprehensively as it should have in response to the warnings in 2021, and to the problem that has now fully emerged.
“The responsibility for that failure must ultimately rest with the director.”
