A BRITISH Museum worker sacked after jewellery and stones vanished has been revealed as a senior curator who worked there for 30 years.
Peter John Higgs, 56, was fired earlier this year after the gems worth tens of millions of pounds went missing.
The museum’s curator of Greek collections, Greek sculpture and the Hellenistic period has not been arrested.
His son Greg said his dad maintains he is innocent and his dismissal after 30 years was a huge shock.
He told The Times: "He’s not happy about it at all. 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.”
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“He worked there for what, 35 years without any incidents. They relied on him for so much stuff. And then, yeah, I don’t know what changed.
"He’s devastated about it, because it’s his life’s work, basically. I’ve never known somebody who’s so passionate about what he did. I mean, he’s a world expert in his field.”
Peter, who has a doctorate in archaeology, had been working at the museum in London since 1993.
He recently served as the museum’s acting keeper of Greek collections and was co-editor of a book on Sicily and its heritage.
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Speaking about his role last year, Peter said: "My great uncle had in his back garden a marble, full-size copy of the famous Laokoon statue group.
"I cannot remember it, I was only a toddler, but apparently, I loved it, and had to be stopped numerous times from clambering all over it.
"I do not know how my great aunt and uncle came to have such a monumental sculptural group or where it is now, but it must have lit a large ember inside me that fuelled my passion for ancient Greek sculpture.”
It is understood the items went missing over a "significant" period of time but their absence was only discovered this year.
Staff were tipped off after an antiques expert became suspicious about a piece of Roman jewellery being sold on eBay.
The Met Police's Economic Crime Command have launched an investigation but no arrests have been made.
Some of the pieces that have vanished date between 1,500BC and the 19th century.
They include gold, semi-precious stones and glass jewellery and are not believed to be insured.
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Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum, said: “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. The museum apologises for what has happened.”
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