People have called Dr Ittai Gradel a kind of Sherlock Holmes, if Holmes were Danish and obsessed with gems. He’s an antiquities dealer with an eye for stolen goods who will help unlock the mystery at the heart of this story.When Katie meets him in London, he’s got something to show her - two ancient gemstones he believes belong to the British Museum. But this whodunnit begins more than a decade ago as a man with a cardboard box wanders into an antiques market. He has some valuable treasure to sell.Presenter: Katie Razzall 
Producers: Darin Graham, Ben Henderson and Larissa Kennelly 
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman 
Mix and sound design : James Beard
Composer: Jenny Plant 
Exec-producer: Joe Kent 
Investigations Editor: Ed Campbell 
Series Editor: Matt Willis 
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan ClarkeArchive: Sky News Australia

People have called Dr Ittai Gradel a kind of Sherlock Holmes, if Holmes were Danish and obsessed with gems. He’s an antiquities dealer with an eye for stolen goods who will help unlock the mystery at the heart of this story. When Katie meets him in London, he’s got something to show her - two ancient gemstones he believes belong to the British Museum. But this whodunnit begins more than a decade ago as a man with a cardboard box wanders into an antiques market. He has some valuable treasure to sell. Presenter: Katie Razzall Producers: Darin Graham, Ben Henderson and Larissa Kennelly Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Mix and sound design : James Beard Composer: Jenny Plant Exec-producer: Joe Kent Investigations Editor: Ed Campbell Series Editor: Matt Willis Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Archive: Sky News Australia

Thief at the British Museum: 1. The Man with the Cardboard Box

In 1986, members of environmental group London Greenpeace published a leaflet called What's Wrong with McDonald's? It claimed McDonald's was exploiting workers, destroying rainforests, torturing animals, and promoting food that could make people sick, even cause cancer... McDonald's said the claims in the leaflet were untrue, harmed its reputation and demanded an apology. Helen Steel, a gardener, and a former postman named Dave Morris, refused. Mark Steel takes us into the murky world of McDonald's Corporation v Steel &amp; Morris - aka 'McLibel' - the longest-running trial in English history, which turned the spotlight on the way big business operates. The case would help bring issues like rainforest destruction and advertising to children into the mainstream. It would also - spoiler alert - be the moment our current prime minister first comes to prominence. And if that isn't enough, this story would ultimately have connections with a dark and shameful secret at the heart of the British state - something which Mark discovers he himself had been a victim of. Presenter: Mark Steel 
Producer: Conor Garrett Executive 
Producer: Georgia Catt 
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke 
Archive Research: Emma Betteridge 
Production Co-ordinator: Dan Marchini 
Music Score: Phil Kieran Archive excerpts from director Franny Armstrong's 'McLibel,' reproduced with the kind permission of Spanner Films Shadow World: Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK. BBC Studios for BBC Radio 4

Society & Culture

Documentary

True Crime

In 1986, members of environmental group London Greenpeace published a leaflet called What's Wrong with McDonald's? It claimed McDonald's was exploiting workers, destroying rainforests, torturing animals, and promoting food that could make people sick, even cause cancer... McDonald's said the claims in the leaflet were untrue, harmed its reputation and demanded an apology. Helen Steel, a gardener, and a former postman named Dave Morris, refused. Mark Steel takes us into the murky world of McDonald's Corporation v Steel & Morris - aka 'McLibel' - the longest-running trial in English history, which turned the spotlight on the way big business operates. The case would help bring issues like rainforest destruction and advertising to children into the mainstream. It would also - spoiler alert - be the moment our current prime minister first comes to prominence. And if that isn't enough, this story would ultimately have connections with a dark and shameful secret at the heart of the British state - something which Mark discovers he himself had been a victim of. Presenter: Mark Steel Producer: Conor Garrett Executive Producer: Georgia Catt Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Archive Research: Emma Betteridge Production Co-ordinator: Dan Marchini Music Score: Phil Kieran Archive excerpts from director Franny Armstrong's 'McLibel,' reproduced with the kind permission of Spanner Films Shadow World: Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK. BBC Studios for BBC Radio 4

Share Thief at the British Museum: 1. The Man with the Cardboard Box

Sign up to save your podcasts

Thief at the British Museum: 1. The Man with the Cardboard Box

Thief at the British Museum: 1. The Man with the Cardboard Box

More shows like Shadow World

File on 4 Investigates

The Slow Newscast

Assume Nothing

Life Changing

British Scandal

Limelight

Uncanny

The Lab Detective | Tortoise Investigates

Marianna in Conspiracyland

The Louis Theroux Podcast

Missing in the Amazon

Intrigue

Crime Next Door

The History Podcast

Strangers on a Bench