Law

The number of items allegedly taken from the British Museum’s collection by senior curator Peter Higgs is thought to exceed 1,500 and be worth tens of millions of pounds, according to an internal investigation launched this month.

Higgs was the museum’s curator of Greek collections, Greek sculpture and the Hellenistic period and was named last week by the Daily Telegraph and The Times as the prime suspect in the disappearance of artefacts from the collection.

He is thought to have sold many of the stolen objects on eBay over several years, beginning in 2016, often for fractions of their estimated value, the Art Newspaper reported.

A 2,000-year-old Roman object valued at £50,000 was allegedly sold for £40.

Higgs was dismissed by the museum earlier this year. He has not been arrested but the Metropolitan Police have confirmed they are investigating.

Christos Tsirogiannis, a UNESCO-affiliated expert in antiques trafficking, told The Economist the theft is “probably the worst case so far”. 

“No one expects that to happen in a museum”, he said.

The investigation comes at a time of fierce debate about the restitution of artefacts. The British Museum has long countered restitution claims by arguing it has a unique ability to conserve and preserve artefacts, pledging on its website “to ensure that the collection is housed in safety, conserved, curated, researched and exhibited”.

The controversy over the stolen items has led to Greek culture minister, Lina Mendoni, questioning the credibility of the museum: “When such incidents occur, there is obviously a question of safety and integrity [around] all of the museum's exhibits”.

She added the furore “reinforces the permanent and just demand of our country for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles at the Acropolis Museum in Athens”.

Her comments were echoed by head of the Association of Greek Archaeologists, Despina Koutsoumba, who told The Independent her colleagues were “worried” about how many Greek items are missing from the museum.

Their comments were rebuked by Conservative MP Tim Loughton, who is Chair of the British Museum All-Party Parliamentary Group. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme the “blatant opportunism of the Greeks” was “particularly damaging”.

Meanwhile, a museum spokesperson has said: “We won't be commenting on any details of the thefts while they're subject to a police investigation”.

The British Museum has settled a court case after acknowledging it used the work of a translator without permission or payment and then wrongly removed it.

Vancouver-based writer, poet and translator Yilin Wang agreed to settle her copyright infringement claim against the museum for an undisclosed sum.

Wang will also be fully credited in all exhibition materials and future copies of the catalogue will include her contribution.

According to the Art Newspaper, Wang plans to donate 50% or more of the total settlement “to support translators of Sinophone poetry”. 

“I hope my donations can help fund a series of workshops with a focus on feminist, queer and decolonial approaches to translation, in honour of Qiu Jin,” Wang said.

As part of the settlement, the British Museum will be reviewing its permissions policy.

A statement from the institution says the review of its permission process will “ensure that there is a timely and robust methodology underpinning our clearance work and our crediting of contributors going forward”.

The museum says it will complete its review by the end of this year and will “implement appropriate policies and procedures to address any gaps identified in its review”.

The statement also acknowledges the museum does not currently have a policy for specifically addressing the clearance of translations, which Wang said was “surprising” for such a large institution.

“I hope that the British Museum follows through on their commitment to create a clearance process for translations in the future by the end of this year and to take concrete steps to ensure that the mistake does not happen again,” Wang added.

The UK government has published a response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) recommendations on secondary ticketing, ruling out legislative changes for the time being. 

The CMA called for stronger laws to tackle illegal ticket reselling in August 2021, publishing a comprehensive report on the secondary market. 

The authority called for changes including a ban on platforms allowing resellers to sell more tickets than they are legally allowed to buy from the primary market, holding platforms accountable for incorrect information about tickets listed on their websites and a new licencing system for platforms that sell secondary tickets.

The UK government’s response, penned by MP Kevin Hollinrake, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State within the Department of Business and Trade, formally rejects the proposals.

“The government believes in the power of competitive markets to give consumers choice and flexibility,” Hollinrake’s response said. 

“This applies to both the primary and secondary markets in event tickets. Consumers should have the ability to sell on tickets they no longer want or able to use and therefore need a market for resale.”

The government response cited the “massive disruption” to the event industry caused by the Covid-19 pandemic as hindering a detailed assessment of the impact of current trading standards and CMA enforcement work.

It also stressed the responsibility of buyers to make careful decisions when purchasing tickets from the secondary market.

The response said that it is “too soon” to establish whether futher legislation focused on the secondary ticket market is “the only way forward”, concluding that “to propose further legislation in the sector at this stage is not yet appropriate or justified by the available evidence”.

It added that improvements to other aspects of consumer law, published in response to the 2021 consultation, would be the government’s priority in the immediate future, “rather than changes to the secondary ticketing regime specifically”.
 

A petition to save the O2 Academy Brixton from permanent closure has topped 50,000 signatures. 

The venue’s licence was suspended after two people died during a crush outside the building ahead of a performance by singer Asake in December last year. Eight others were hospitalised.

The petition was started after the Met Police said it was seeking for the licence to be permanently revoked.

Created by Stuart O’Brien and directed to Lambeth Council, it said that the venue’s closure would result in “another part of the musical landscape and history” being “lost forever”.

It suggested means of ensuring that the tragedy wasn’t repeated, including revoking the security firm’s licence and bringing in security recommended by police.

The petition has been supported by musicians and bands including The Chemical Brothers and Garbage, the BBC reported.

“Brixton Academy is such an important and historic venue for south London and live music,” tweeted Primal Scream's bassist Simone Butler. “There is a police station literally opposite, surely with new management / infrastructure + security it can be improved? Instead of just shutting it down?”

The licence application is currently in a consultation period, after which a decision will be made at a council sub-committee.

In the weeks following the crush, concerns had been raised over the strength of the venue’s doors, as well as staffing levels.

The medical cover provider confirmed recently that no paramedics or nurses were present and only five people were working when the crush occurred.

Industry guidelines recommend twice the number of medical staff, including a paramedic and a nurse.

Academy Music Group (AMG), which runs the venue, said that it had co-operated fully with the police and Lambeth Council and had presented “detailed proposals that we believe will enable the venue to reopen safely”.

The group is currently awaiting feedback on its proposals, it added.