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Thief steals 25,000 pounds from loss-making Royal Mint
London, Oct 17: The Royal Mint, which produces all British coins, was facing up calls for a radical overhaul today after it suffered a record trading loss in its latest financial year.
London, Oct 17: The Royal Mint, which produces all British coins, was facing up calls for a radical overhaul today after it suffered a record trading loss in its latest
financial year.
The Mint, which claims a history that can be traced back
more than 1,000 years to the "scattered workshops of the
moneyers of Anglo-Saxon London", suffered further
embarrassment as it was revealed a thief had stolen more than
25,000 pounds (39,000$) in new 20-pound notes.
The theft, due to a series of security lapses, contributed to a 6.5 million pound trading loss last year by the state-owned company, according to a highly critical report by the country's national audit office (NAO).
The second successive annual loss prompted the head of the NAO, auditor and comptroller general Sir John Bourn, to warn that the mint, which has also made coins for over 100 countries, faced a period of "painful" restructuring.
The theft of the 20-pound notes occurred last year at the mint's high security Llantrisant plant in South Wales which is guarded by ministry of defence (MoD) police.
The NAO said a series of "control breakdowns and weaknesses" at the plant meant the theft may have gone undiscovered for more than eight months.
The loss of the notes was discovered during a stock check last December.
The mint had taken delivery of a consignment of 40,000 pounds in new 20-pound notes which were deposited in a safe in an area normally subjected to particularly stringent security precautions. Bureau Report
The theft, due to a series of security lapses, contributed to a 6.5 million pound trading loss last year by the state-owned company, according to a highly critical report by the country's national audit office (NAO).
The second successive annual loss prompted the head of the NAO, auditor and comptroller general Sir John Bourn, to warn that the mint, which has also made coins for over 100 countries, faced a period of "painful" restructuring.
The theft of the 20-pound notes occurred last year at the mint's high security Llantrisant plant in South Wales which is guarded by ministry of defence (MoD) police.
The NAO said a series of "control breakdowns and weaknesses" at the plant meant the theft may have gone undiscovered for more than eight months.
The loss of the notes was discovered during a stock check last December.
The mint had taken delivery of a consignment of 40,000 pounds in new 20-pound notes which were deposited in a safe in an area normally subjected to particularly stringent security precautions. Bureau Report