The British Museum was the victim of “an inside job”, said its chairman George Osborne, who revealed “steps were taken to conceal” the thefts which happened over two decades.
Mr Osborne was speaking at a session of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Wednesday morning after around 2,000 items - including gold jewellery, semi-precious stones and glass - were stolen from the museum over between 20 and 25 years.
