The Danish art collector who detected a thief was flogging precious items from the British Museum on eBay has blasted the museum's director as an 'idiot' who 'lives in cloud cuckoo land'.
Dr Ittai Gradel says he was rebuffed by British museum director Dr Hartwig Fischer and deputy director Dr Jonathan Williams when he sent them evidence in February 2021.
Dr Gradel's evidence showed the eBay's seller's name was sultan1966 - the same name as the Twitter handle used by one of the museum's curators, Dr Peter Higgs. The seller's Paypal account was also allegedly linked to a bank account in the name of Peter Higgs, The Telegraph reports.
Dr Gradel says his concerns were dismissed by both Dr Fischer and Dr Williams, who concluded there had been no thefts.
The art dealer said: 'I'm willing to accept that Fischer is an idiot who lives in cloud cuckoo land and doesn't understand anything and relies solely on the advice of his deputy director, Jonathan Williams.'
Higgs' family insists he is innocent and he will clear his name. Last week, his son Greg said: 'He's not done anything. 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.'
Dr Peter Higgs, a curator employed by the British Museum for over 30 years, was sacked after the thefts, it was revealed last week
Dr Gradel's screenshotted one item, showing the eBay's seller's name was sultan1966...
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