MUSEUM 'HEIST' PROBE Update on British Museum mystery as it’s revealed ‘priceless gold, jewellery & gems’ were either stolen or damaged’

THE British Museum has revealed that priceless "gold, jewellery and gems" dating from 1400BC are among the items reportedly stolen or damaged.

The museum said that a worker had been sacked after a number of items in its collection were found to have been damaged or to have disappeared.

Met Police cops are now investigating the case.

It has been reported that the items were "small pieces" including gold, jewellery and gems dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD.

Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum, said: "This is a highly unusual incident.

"I know I speak for all colleagues when I say that we take the safeguarding of all the items in our care extremely seriously.

"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."

It comes less than a week after a man was charged after the horror stabbing at the Museum

The museum's chairman George Osborne 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.".