Stealing from museums is easier than you might think

Go into the British Museum. Ignore the Rosetta Stone; don’t turn left for the Parthenon sculptures; don’t be seduced by the sumptuous naked statue of Venus. Instead, head up the stairs to Room 69. Here, it is quieter. There is the usual old stuff: Greek pots; some rude Roman decorations; and a pair of wooden double doors whose brass buzzer announces, expansively, that they lead to “GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES”. Press it, and no one answers. They are not likely to. Because, after a series of thefts, there are fewer antiquities behind this museum’s doors than there should be.