Staff at the British Museum are wondering who their next boss will be following the surprise departure of director Hartwig Fischer. An insider tells us his announcement that he will go in 2024 was “very sudden”, and that whoever replaces him faces a difficult job because the museum needs work.
They told us that there is “embarrassment” among staff that the building is “visibly falling down”, with gaffer tape on the carpets and water damage on the walls in galleries. There have been leaks in the wing that houses the Parthenon sculptures — also known as the Elgin Marbles — while areas such as the reading room where Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital are closed to the public because of their condition. There have been hopes for a £1 billion restoration project, but cash is needed.
