British Museum says more missing and stolen gems found

In an earlier civil court hearing, lawyers from the museum described how it believes the suspect altered internal records to try and cover his tracks.

The suspect edited at least 83 digital internal records which related to stolen, damaged or missing items, the court heard.

But much of the collection remains uncatalogued and many records, including of gemstones, don’t have photos.

“We always think all these people are decent people in the museum, and if someone there abuses this lack of record keeping what can you do? You expect people not to steal. You can’t give them a full body search every time they leave the museum.”

Mr Brand said the key is to catalogue everything.

“Trust is good, but control is even better. A second database must be created that can not be accessed by staff, so things can be double-checked. Even if you have pieces in the catalogue people can alter it.”

The British Museum was told at the end of 2023 to improve its records by an internal review following the thefts.

It said it would spend approximately £10 million to document its entire collection and make it available online within five years.

The Metropolitan Police is investigating but no arrests have been made.