Hartwig Fischer said the British Museum did not act "comprehensively" enough when it discovered items from its collections were missing. The stolen artifacts include gold and jewelry, some of which date back millennia.British Museum director Hartwig Fischer stepped down on Friday after numerous artifacts were stolen.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: Teacher Asking Students To Slap Minority Classmate in Muzaffarnagar School, Video Goes Viral.

A number of items in the museum's collection were reported stolen two years ago, including gems and jewelry from centuries ago.

Also Read | Sudan: UN Warns of Hunger, Disease, Displacement.

"The responsibility for that failure must ultimately rest with the director," Fischer said.

Fischer is originally from Germany and was the first non-British head of the museum in more than two centuries.

'We are going to fix what has gone wrong'

The outgoing director said lapses in museum procedures allowed the items to be taken.

"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," Fischer said.

"It is evident that the British Museum did not respond as comprehensively as it should have to the warnings in 2021, and to the problem that has now fully emerged."

The museum's board of trustees, chaired by former British finance minister George Osborne, accepted Fischer's resignation.

"I am clear about this: we are going to fix what has gone wrong," Osborne said.

What was stolen from the British Museum?

According to the museum, the stolen items included gold, jewelry and semi-precious gems dating from the 15th century B.C. to the 19th century A.D.

It previously said that the items were mostly "small pieces kept in a storeroom belonging to one of the museum's collections."

None of the items had been on public display recently, and they were kept mainly for academic and research purposes, it added.

London's Metropolitan Police said on Thursday it had interviewed a man in relation to the reported thefts, and the museum said it was taking legal action against the same individual. No arrests have been made.

The British Museum is one of the most famous galleries in the world, but in recent years it has come under pressure to address the legacy of items that were acquired during the British Empire.

Critics say some priceless artifacts in the museum's were stolen from around the world.

These include some of the museum's prized exhibits, the Parthenon Marbles from Greece and the Benin Bronzes from Nigeria.

zc/jcg (AFP, Reuters, AP)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 26, 2023 12:50 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).