an inside job?

an inside job?

That does come to mind, but I'd have to think that going back to the well like this would be incredibly risky for the same inside person. Repeated thefts would create the possibility of a pattern of revealing connections. Which doesn't mean that isn't what's happening, but still. The thieves don't really seem to be hiding what they're doing, though, do they? More likely a massive security failure that continues to be exploited. Very alarming.

Undoubtedly massive security failure rather than inside job. Taking stuff from storage would be the way to go for a crooked insider, and the items that have been taken have hardly been well-chosen for ease of resale.

Insurance scam? They must be heavily insured, and there isn't a museum but what needs liquid funds.

State museums in the UK and Europe typically aren't insured for theft. They may carry insurance to cover the cost of repairs in case of fire, flood, vandalism, etc, but nothing for replacement. In any event, too many of their holdings are not replaceable at any price -- despite all the talk of the value of the items lost.

Undoubtedly massive security failure rather than inside job.

This article seems to agree, though it does raise the possibility of inside help:

The thefts reveal detailed knowledge of the security and visitor patterns in the museum. In each incident the galleries were hit during opening hours but at a time when the museum was quiet, and in each case the cases were old timber ones and areas chosen were not covered by security cameras.

(snip)

The redisplayed galleries, such as the British Galleries, have much stronger steel and glass cases and far better lighting. However there are still many shadowy and near-deserted corners of the vast, rambling museum, where galleries might be empty for long periods except for patrols by warding staff.

News of the latest theft caused consternation, and senior staff were called back from leave. The bronzes were in a case which would have been emptied in the next few months, when the area is closed for redisplay - a factor which increases the suspicion that the thieves have very good information, possibly from an inside source.

Given the sheer size of the V+A, you are right to note that in-person security is essentially a zone defense and - so it seems - easy to evade at that. I still don't necessarily think that the sort of information indicated means an inside source was involved, though of course it can't be dismissed. It all sounds like the sort of thing that someone paying careful attention to the Museum could learn without too much difficulty - making reconaissance visits, checking exhibition schedules, etc. I hope we find out...