Reposted from The Art Newspaper

The terms of reference record that “the ongoing detailed audit of affected objects is likely to take longer” than the compilation of the
review’s report, suggesting that identifying the losses will be a complex
operation.
 The review is also responsible for recording “failures of controls,
processes or policies” which contributed to the losses and to make
recommendations for improvements. Significantly, they will also examine the
performance of the board of trustees to examine “whether actions taken or
not taken” were reasonable and whether improvements should be made.
 It was not until last October that the BM’s board of trustees, chaired by
former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne, received proper
information and began to take the allegations seriously. In January 2023,
the Metropolitan Police were finally called in to investigate and the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport was informed about the gravity of
the loss.
 The independent review will now liaise with the police. Bilson, the
museum’s head of security, is to be responsible for “coordinating support
for the criminal investigation”.
 Finally, the review will establish and carry out a program to attempt to
recover the antiquities, which may involve “civil litigation against
persons suspected of possessing missing affected objects”. This suggests
that further recoveries could take a long time.
 The report of the independent review is due to be presented to the next
meeting of the BM trustees, which is expected to be held in early December.
It will also be submitted to the secretary of state at the Department of
Culture, Media and Sport, Lucy Frazer, and her permanent secretary,
Susannah Storey. This indicates that the issue has caused deep concern to
the government.
 In the meantime, BM staff and external individuals have a duty of
confidentiality in assisting the review. The co-chairs will have “the right
of immediate and unrestricted access to all records, assets, personnel and
premises” to obtain information. Along with Osborne, the chair of the audit
committee of the trustees, Vivian Hunt, will also play an important role in
monitoring the review process.
 The review report “will be kept confidential”. The museum’s trustees will
only be able to publish it in whole or part with the approval of the three
co-chairs.

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