Kwame Opoku: Though BM’s director Hartwig Fischer’s departure came at a surprise, those who have watched closely the goings-on in the British Museum would have noted for some time that all was not well between Fischer and the Chair of the Board of Trustees, George Osborne. Earlier, we noted that the discussions with Greece were conducted by George Osborne, while Fischer remained silent. In his place, Deputy director Jonathan Williams and Osborne did defend the museum. How are we to understand this? Osborne’s aggressive nationalism could also be active in this context.’ He pushed aside Hartwig Fischer, German director of the museum. We have yet to find out what the two thousand stolen items were. The venerable museum continues its tradition of secrecy, even when informing us about stolen items. How do we know what the museum officials are talking about?
Lewis McNaught: The recent damage to the British Museum’s reputation as a secure custodian of global treasures cannot be overstated. But is the delay in reporting these widespread thefts an isolated event, or is the Museum knowingly withholding information on other sensitive issues? It’s been exactly twelve months since Returning Heritage, represented by the legal firm Leigh Day, made the first of four Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the British Museum about its collection of eleven Ethiopian Tabots. However, almost every one of these requests for information has been rebuffed. We don’t believe any of the information we’ve requested is contentious. For example: How many restitution requests has the Museum received for the Tabots since 1990? When did Trustees meet to discuss these requests? What advice did they receive and what actions did they agree? If they have agreed to retain the Tabots, on what grounds do Trustees consider these objects are fit to be retained?
Barnaby Philips: From the perspective of Greece or Nigeria, the word irony hardly does justice to the sad spectacle unfolding at the British Museum. A museum whose detractors say is full of looted objects has itself been looted. Moreover, a museum which once brushed away restitution claims on the basis that it was the best custodian of the world’s treasures is now revealed to be not only incompetent, but also hypocritica
