A FORMER curator at York’s Castle Museum who was sacked over a security incident involving replica muskets has lost his battle to show he was unfairly dismissed.

Keith Matthews, who was curator of military history at the flagship museum, says he is “deeply disappointed” by an employment tribunal’s decision to dismiss his claim.

As The Press reported last November, the Leeds tribunal had been told that Mr Matthews, of Appleton Roebuck, only locked one of three locks on the door of the museum’s military library, where weaponry had been left.

He locked only an old Yale lock and not two mortice locks which had been installed after a security review, and the security breach was discovered in the presence of a North Yorkshire Police armed response unit in September 2009 after they had gone to the museum when an alarm went off because of electrical work within the complex.

But Mr Matthews’s solicitor said he had never been given the keys to the mortice locks, criticised the trust’s disciplinary procedures and suggested there were double standards within the organisation.

Now the tribunal has said in a reserved judgement that, in its view, the trust had carried out a thorough investigation and a “fair, albeit not perfect,” disciplinary hearing, adding: “That gave it reasonable grounds to believe in the misconduct alleged, which could rightly be categorised as gross misconduct.”

It also said the trust was entitled to reject Mr Matthews’ explanation about the lack of keys, saying his job description obliged him to be responsible for the safety and security of items in the collection. “It was his duty to ensure that, if there were inadequate keys, then the appropriate person should obtain an adequate number of them.”

It added that it had found no evidence to support his contention that the trust’s actions might have been influenced by a desire to avoid paying redundancy money to him.

Mr Matthews said he now planned to concentrate on a business venture involving making and marketing replica historic costumes and jewellery, and organising historic interpretations in schools.

A Trust spokeswoman declined to comment.