British Museum appoints new director after alleged thefts scandal

Nicholas Cullinan, ex-head of National Portrait Gallery, replaces Hartwig Fischer who resigned over disappearance of 1,500 items

The British Museum has appointed the former National Portrait Gallery head Nicholas Cullinan as its new director, after it emerged last year that hundreds of objects had been allegedly stolen from the museum’s collection.

He replaces the interim director Sir Mark Jones, the former head of the Victoria and Albert Museum, who stood in for former director Hartwig Fischer. Fischer resigned last year over the scandal.