Fired IT worker partly shuts down British Museum

LONDON

The British Museum said it had closed a number of exhibits after a fired IT contractor "shut down" some of its systems.

The London venue, one of the U.K. capital's biggest tourist draws and best known for housing the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon Marbles, said police had arrested the suspect.

"An IT contractor who was dismissed last week trespassed into the museum and shut down several of our systems," a museum spokesman said. "We are working hard to get the museum back to being fully operational but with regret our temporary exhibitions have been closed today and will remain so over the weekend."

A spokesperson for London's Metropolitan police said officers responded to the British Museum late Thursday following reports that a man on-site had "caused damage" to its security and IT systems.

Police arrested the man in his 50s at the scene on suspicion of burglary and criminal damage. He has been bailed "pending further enquiries," the spokesperson added.

Part of the museum's permanent collection was also closed Friday following the incident, Britain's Press Association news agency reported.

A message on the museum's website on Jan. 25 stated that it was "open but due to an IT infrastructure issue some galleries have had to be closed." It added this meant "capacity will be limited, and priority will be given to members and pre-booked ticket-holders."

The incident is the latest embarrassing security lapse for the museum after allegations emerged in 2023 that a former employee was suspected of selling items stolen from its vast collection.

About 1,800 objects were disclosed as missing or stolen in August 2023.

The museum dismissed a staff member suspected of involvement in what it called "an inside job," and alerted police who have interviewed a person but made no arrests.

Hundreds of the items have since been recovered.

Following a furor around that scandal, Hartwig Fischer, the director of the museum at the time, resigned.

After a temporary head was appointed, Nicholas Cullinan, who was previously in charge of the National Portrait Gallery, took over the role last year.