Good evening. The director of the British Museum has resigned with immediate effect after admitting to failings in its investigation of the theft of more than 1,500 items.

Elsewhere, Vladimir Putin has ordered all Wagner mercenaries to pledge allegiance to Russia.

The director of the British Museum has resigned with immediate effect after admitting to failings in its investigation of the theft of more than 1,500 items. Hartwig Fischer, who was due to leave his post next year, had resisted calls to quit his post despite a week of revelations about ignored warnings. The Board of Trustees, chaired by former chancellor George Osborne, has accepted his resignation.

Putin’s order comes two days after Wagner leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, died in a plane crash which has been widely blamed on the Kremlin. Fighting Russians have urged grieving Wagner fighters to join their ranks. The base of Russia’s Black Sea fleet was recently hit in the ‘largest ever’ drone attack on Crimea. Watch how Ukrainian F-16s could unravel Russia.