British Museum’s Sir Nigel No Holmes

Would Sherlock Holmes mock British Museum’s firing of an employee “suspected” of stealing gold & artifacts years ago? Museum reported theft to Scotland Yard & called in “experts” to investigate, as if they can now deduce more than a hamstrung Lestrade.

At least in USA jurisprudence, number one rule when suspecting an employee stole anything is for the employer to quietly KEEP the Cretan on the payroll so it has full-bore practical as well as legal power over him or her – Even Rumpole of the Bailey might agree that by dismissing the suspect, you lose the ability to interrogate at will or monitor the stiff until he or she hangs themself with yet another theft. Note, according to the BBC, the terminated employee has NOT been arrested, presumably because there’s not enough evidence to level charges, especially since the missing items were stolen over “a significant period of time,” never on display because they were warehoused & used primarily for research purposes.

So … the museum publicly heralds the appointment of an “independent” commission (ala our DOJ?) to deal with the legal lemon it’s been handed so it can presumably use deductive reasoning ala Sherlock & turn it into lemonade? The leaders are ex-trustee Sir Nigel Boardman & Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi of British Transport Police. Sir Nigel: “It will be a painstaking job, involving internal & external experts, but this is an absolute priority, however long it takes …” Here! Here! Jolly good show! But, might Holmes bemoan, “I need DATA. Instead, you bumblers not only forewarned the primary suspect, but largely let him out of the trap you could’ve set.”

Davd Soul