British Museum worker sacked over missing treasures

The British Museum in London has sacked a member of staff and police are investigating after treasures were reported: "missing, stolen or damaged".

Items including gold, jewelry, and gems of semi-precious stones were among those missing from the museum, one of the UK's largest tourist attractions.

The majority of the items were kept in a storeroom, the museum said.

British Museum director Hartwig Fischer said the museum would "throw our efforts into the recovery of objects".

He added: "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.

"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."

Legal action would be taken against the staff member who was fired, the museum added.

The Economic Crime Command of the Metropolitan Police is investigating but no arrests have been made.