The man accused of stealing from the British Museum is a senior curator who has worked there for 30 years, The Telegraph can reveal.

Peter Higgs, who was sacked earlier this year as the curator of Mediterranean cultures, is an eminent expert on antiquities who has written books to accompany some of the museum’s major exhibitions.

His family has protested his innocence and said they believe he will clear his name.

Mr Higgs, 56, a father of two, had worked at the museum since 1993, but lost his job after his bosses accused him of stealing items including jewellery made of gold, semi-precious stones and glass dating between 1,500BC and the 19th century AD.

The items went missing from the museum’s vaults over a period of years and some of them had turned up for sale on ebay as long ago as 2016.

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