British Museum staff member sacked after treasures vanished named as senior curator
The British Museum staff member sacked after the disappearance of a number of artefacts has been named as Peter Higgs.
Mr Higgs, regarded as one of Britain’s top experts on Greek and Mediterranean artefacts, was the British Museum’s curator of Mediterranean cultures until earlier this year.
The 56-year-old had been with the museum for almost three decades.
Mr Higgs (left) was involved in a project in 2021 to return a statue to Libya
Mr Higgs’ son denied his father had done anything wrong.
“He’s not happy about it at all,” Greg Higgs told The Times.
“He’s lost his job and his reputation and I don’t think it was fair. It couldn’t have been [him]. I don’t think there is even anything missing as far as I’m aware.”
The British Museum said items that were found to be “missing, stolen or damaged” included “gold jewellery and gems of semi-precious stones and glass dating from the 15th Century BC to the 19th Century AD”.
The majority were “small pieces kept in a storeroom belonging to one of the museum’s collections”.
They were mainly used for academic and research work and none had recently been on public display.
British Museum officials began investigating after several artefacts were offered for sale on eBay.
The museum said it will be taking legal action and the Metropolitan Police’s economic and crime command is investigating.
During his career, Mr Higgs had written books from his work at the museum, including co-authoring a book about the ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII.
The book accompanied a major exhibition about the famous ruler at the British Museum in 2001, which explored how she was depicted during her own era, in works ranging from coins to life-size sculptures.
Mr Higgs had been with the museum for almost 30 years. (Pictured at the opening of his Cleopatra exhibition in 2001).
Another book published last year focused on the fragments of decorative architecture – known as Metopes – recovered from the Temple of Apollo at Bassai.
Mr Higgs also co-authored a 2016 book about the ancient Sicilian culture, which accompanied an exhibition at the museum at the time.
In 2021, he was also involved in curating a travelling exhibition about the heroes, warriors and athletes of Ancient Greece, bringing together almost 180 artefacts, including a section of a frieze that wrapped around the tomb of King Mausolus.
The exhibition, from the British Museum, went to museums in Australia and New Zealand.
In the same year, Mr Higgs was involved in a project to return a rare 2,000-year-old marble statue, believed to be of the Greek goddess Persephone, to Libya.
The British Museum said it will be taking legal action
The statue, believed to have come from the ancient Libyan city of Cyrene, was seized by customs officials at Heathrow Airport in 2013.
It was likely stolen from a tomb in the cemetery during the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
On its return to Libya, he told The Guardian: “It is just lovely to be part of a story which has a happy ending.”
According to The Times, Mr Higgs, who lives in Hastings, East Sussex, went to school in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, before studying archaeology at the University of Liverpool.
In an interview with The Greek Herald last year, Mr Higgs said he used to visit the British Museum regularly as a child and was “fascinated by the large-scale sculptures”.
Asked why he particularly enjoyed studying Greek culture, he said: “There is the visual connection – the large temples, tombs and sculptures that have so inspired sculptors and architects over time.
“There are the great legends and tales of epic heroes, gods and goddesses which we have known since childhood and the great legacies of the Greek world – wonderfully profound stories turned into plays and then there is the Olympic Games – an early and lasting attempt to promote peace through shared pursuits.”
Two children and a woman have died in a shooting in County Fermanagh, police have said.
Two people were killed in the shooting on Wednesday morning, and a third, who was seriously injured, died in hospital in the afternoon.
A fourth person, a man, was seriously injured in the shooting in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
All victims were from the same household, Superintendent Robert McGowan, district commander for Fermanagh and Omagh, said at a news conference.
Police have cordoned off the scene in the village of Maguiresbridge, about 75 miles (120km) southwest of Belfast.
“We can advise there is no ongoing risk to the public,” a Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesperson said.
There was no mention of a motive behind the shooting.
The scene in the Drummeer Road area of Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh. Pic: Oliver McVeigh /PA Wir
A murder investigation has been launched, with enquiries being at an early stage.
Supt McGowan said at the news conference that police don’t anticipate any arrests being made at this stage.
Emergency services were called to the Drummeer Road area of the village at around 8am on Wednesday following a report raised from the property, Supt McGowan said.
Two people were found dead at the scene, and two others seriously injured.
One patient was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, by air ambulance and the other to South West Acute Hospital by ambulance. Supt McGowan said the third person died at the South West Acute Hospital.
Drummeer Road is currently closed, police said, warning that this could lead to delays on alternative roads.
Drummeer Road has been cordoned off. Pic: Oliver McVeigh /PA Wir
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said: “The news from Maguiresbridge is tragic and deeply distressing.
“My thoughts are with the victims, their relatives and the local community in Fermanagh. I would urge the public not to speculate and to allow the PSNI to continue their investigation.”
Sinn Fein MP Pat Cullen has expressed her deep shock over the shooting, saying: “Firstly, my thoughts are with the victims and their families at this tragic time.”
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DUP MLA Deborah Erskine, who represents the area in the Northern Ireland Assembly, said that the community was “stunned” by the shooting in “a rural, quiet area”.
“Everyone is deeply affected by what has happened this morning,” she said.
Five “violent” and “dangerous” gang members have been found guilty of murdering a boy and a young man at a music video shoot in a north London estate.
The men had gone to the Elthorne Estate in Archway “with the intention of killing anyone they could”, the Metropolitan Police said.
And the group mistook those they attacked for rival gang members.
Lorik Lupqi, 21; Jason Furtado, 28; Abel Chunda, 29; Xavier Poponne, 22; and Eden Clark, 31, were convicted of murdering 15-year-old Leonardo Reid and 23-year-old Klevi Shekaj and attempting to murder 28-year-old Abdullah Abdullahi.
(L-R) Xavier Poponne, Lorik Lupqi and Abel Chunda. Pic: Met Police
Leonardo and Mr Shekaj were fatally stabbed and Mr Abdullahi was badly hurt when knifemen descended on the event on the night of 29 June 2023.
Leonardo and his brother had been watching a music video being filmed with friends.
Police said Lupqi, a gang member from Islington, saw the gathering at around 8.30pm and took it as an opportunity to hurt those he thought were gang opponents.
He messaged his girlfriend stating that “opps were outside”. She advised him to remain inside, but Lupqi decided to contact his close friend and gang associate Jason Furtado.
They formed a plan and recruited gang members Chunda, Clark and Poponne to travel to the estate.
Lupqi had booked a taxi to pick up the three men from the area of Furtado’s home address in Canonbury, north London, telling the cab firm: “I’m in a little bit of a rush,” the jury heard.
They had worn masks and were armed as they went to the Elthorne Estate where they met Lupqi, the court was told.
(L-R) Jason Furtado and Eden Clark. Pic: Met Police/PA
By the time they arrived, the filming had ended, and most people had left, but some local children and teenagers remained in the area.
The group then carried out their deadly attack.
The alarm was raised as a black-clad figure wearing a balaclava was spotted crouching down and moving towards Leonardo, his brother and others, with a large knife.
Three more males in black stood up from where they had been hiding behind cars as they edged towards the group, the court was told.
Leonardo was stabbed in the chest, with the wound cutting through his left lung and one of the major blood vessels in his body, causing fatal blood loss.
Leonardo’s brother had run away from the scene but later looped back and saw his sibling lying motionless on the ground, the court heard.
Mr Shekaj was stabbed in the back, with the wound cutting through his left lung and deep into his body.
He was driven to Whittington Hospital by members of the public but he died on arrival.
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Detective Inspector Jim Barry said: “These violent men went into this estate with the intention of killing anyone they could, under the false impression that those there were rival gang members.
“This was a senseless, violent act which has shattered the lives of so many, especially Leonardo and Klevi’s loved ones.
“This dangerous group of men will now spend a long time behind bars but the effect of what they did will be felt by the victim’s shattered families for longer.”
The five killers will appear at the same court on 25 and 26 September for sentencing.
A third person has died in a shooting in Co Fermanagh, police have said.
Two people were killed in the shooting on Wednesday morning, and a third, who was seriously injured, died in the afternoon.
A fourth person was seriously injured in the shooting in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
All victims were from the same household, Superintendent Robert McGowan, District Commander for Fermanagh and Omagh, said at a news conference.
They have cordoned off the scene in the village of Maguiresbridge, about 75 miles (120km) southwest of Belfast.
“We can advise there is no ongoing risk to the public,” a Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesperson said.
There was no mention of a motive behind the shooting.
The scene in the Drummeer Road area of Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh. Pic: Oliver McVeigh /PA Wir
A murder investigation has been launched.
Supt McGowan said at the news conference that police don’t anticipate any arrests to be made at this stage.
Emergency services were called to the shooting in the Drummeer Road area of the village at around 8am on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said.
They confirmed that two people had been injured.
“Following assessment and initial treatment at scene, one patient has been taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, by air ambulance and another to South West Acute Hospital by ambulance,” the spokesperson added.
Drummeer Road is currently closed, police said, warning that this could lead to delays on alternative roads.
Drummeer Road has been cordoned off. Pic: Oliver McVeigh /PA Wir
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said: “The news from Maguiresbridge is tragic and deeply distressing.
“My thoughts are with the victims, their relatives and the local community in Fermanagh. I would urge the public not to speculate and to allow the PSNI to continue their investigation.”
Sinn Fein MP Pat Cullen has expressed her deep shock over the shooting, saying: “Firstly, my thoughts are with the victims and their families at this tragic time.”
Read more from Sky News:
Jailed traders’ convictions overturned
Family tribute after death of teenager
DUP MLA Deborah Erskine, who represents the area in the Northern Ireland Assembly, said that the community was “stunned” by the shooting in “a rural, quiet area.”
“Everyone is deeply affected by what has happened this morning,” she said.
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