Mysterious warning of ‘imminent threat’ puts museums on red alert
After the authorities received secret intelligence about a “severe and imminent” threat, they sprang into action, urging security staff to prepare “the best available defence against any attack” and remain “extra vigilant”.
This, though, was no terror warning from MI5. Shadowy figures have been noticed making “reconnaissance visits” to museums and galleries, probing for weaknesses in the CCTVcoverage and checking what time the security guards head off for lunch.
In a notice to arts institutions,William Brown, national security adviser to Arts Council England, wrote: “I wish to inform all Museums in the UK that theThreat level of an attack on Museums has increased to SEVEREANDIMMINENT.” Despite the tone of panic, Mr Brown is referring to theft.
“All venues are asked to ensure that collections are held in facilities offering the best available defence against any attack. Intruder and case alarms should be used correctly and any alarm trigger treated with professionalism and suspicion ensuring all causes are identified.”
Staff were also told to keep a close watch on “visitors paying undue attention to collections”, advice that might potentially lead to an embarrassing misunderstanding between a particularly ardent fine art fan and the police.
CCTV systems should be “purged” to make sure they are “at theiroptimum performance” and that “good-quality images” are available, Mr Brown added.
All display cases should be cleaned frequently “to ensure forensic evidence is possible”, while exhibits should be checked at “opening, lunch and closing … for the foreseeable future”; external lighting should also be monitored.
“In the event of any cause for alarm or an immediate suspicion of people around your venue please do not hesitate to ring 999 and advise the police of your immediate concerns,” Mr Brown stressed.
The Scottish Council on Archives (SCA), which published the warning on its website, said the authorities were aware of “a group who have made reconnaissance visits to a number of museums and other venues across the UK”.
“It is thought that smaller, more portable items will be targeted rather than items such as large paintings,” the SCA said.
The body said the source of the intelligence was the National Crime Agency, which deals with organised crime. However, a spokesman for the agency said it was “completely unaware” of any threat to Britain’s museums and galleries.
“We’re still trying to assess where they got that information from,” the spokesman added.
If an attack does take place, it will not be the first time a museum has been targeted. In 2012, two men dug a hole through awall at Durham University’s Oriental Museum and made off with two Chinese artefacts, a 1769 jade bowl and a porcelain figurine, that were worth about £2m.