The museum in central London, which attracts almost 6 million visitors a year, closed many exhibitions after the reported attack.

A former staff member - who was dismissed last week - was arrested after allegedly breaking in to the museum and shutting down computer systems.

The British Museum, the country’s most popular tourist attraction, was partially closed to the public on Saturday after an employee who had been fired broke in and shut down computer systems, museum management said.

The British Museum has been partially closed off to visitors after a former worker allegedly shut down its IT network. An ex-employee has been arrested after allegedly trespassing onto the museum site and shutting down its computer systems in an IT attack earlier this week.