Founded in 1753, the British Museum was designed to securely showcase some of the world’s most valuable objects, a guardianship role now enshrined in UK law. So, it was nothing short of a scandal when last year it emerged that up to 1500 of its artefacts had disappeared – some allegedly stolen by a museum insider.

The BBC’s Culture Editor Katie Razzall has spoken to some of those studying what happened. She joins Katya to consider whether the iconic institution remains fit for purpose, and if it should have the right to keep a hold of many of its controversially acquired items in the first place.

For more on this topic, you can search for Katie’s new nine-part series ‘Thief at the British Museum’ wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We’re keen to hear from you, wherever you are in the world. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell The Global Story. Email us at theglobalstory@bbc.com You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480. #TheGlobalStory.

TGS is part of the BBC News Podcasts family. The team that makes The Global Story also makes several other podcasts, such as Americast and Ukrainecast, which cover US news and the war in Ukraine. If you enjoy The Global Story, then we think that you will enjoy some of our other podcasts too. To find them, simply search on your favourite podcast app.

This episode was made by Laurie Kalus. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The assistant editor is Sergi Forcada Freixas and the senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Stolen treasures: Scandal at the British Museum 23:46 Share

The Global Story

Shownotes Transcript

Stolen treasures: Scandal at the British Museum