It was a pleasure to read the article by Charlotte Higgins in which she stands up for the curators (Politicians, not curators, are to blame for the British Museum’s woes, 1 September). This sad episode has been characterised by ill-informed comment that has little to do with what has come to pass at the British Museum (BM).
There are two points to make, apart from condemning the tardiness in responding to the whistleblower and the apparent attempt at a cover-up. First, the BM has never been the subject of a major theft (at least in modern times), as has been the fate of so many museums worldwide, including at least one in Greece; and, second, it is virtually impossible for museums that hold thousands of small, valuable objects to prevent theft by a determined member of staff.
