A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "Police were called on Thursday 23 January at 20.25 to reports that a man had entered the British Museum and caused damage to the museum's security and IT systems.
A former British Museum employee has been arrested after allegedly breaking in and shutting down the museum's security and IT systems.
"We are working hard to get the museum back to being fully operational but with regret our temporary exhibitions have been closed today and will remain so over the weekend - ticketholders have been alerted and refunds offered.".
A spokesman said on Saturday: "An IT contractor who was dismissed last week trespassed into the museum and shut down several of our systems.
The person - who had recently been fired - "trespassed" at the venue and was arrested at the scene, the museum said.
