The theft of a £30m Leonardo da Vinci painting from Drumlanrig Castle, Scotland, on 27 August has prompted an “intense review” of security measures within the Drumlanrig Castle estate and could prompt heightened security across other English and Scottish heritage sites.

The painting of The Madonna with the Yarnwinder is owned by the Duke of Buccleuch, one of Scotland’s wealthiest men and owner of an extensive private art collection which also includes works by Rembrandt and Holbein.

Detectives believe the theft was perpetrated by three or four people, two of whom posed as tourists inside Drumlanrig Castle before overpowering a guide in the staircase hall, removing the painting from the wall and escaping in a white Golf GTI.

A spokesperson for the Historic Houses Association said: “It is essential that public access to these remarkable collections is maintained, as many of them form the backbone of heritage tourism in the UK – but the government must recognise, against a background of increasingly audacious, determined and targeted crime, that this access and the economic dividend derived from it is not without risk and cost to the owners.”

It is estimated that art and antique theft from UK galleries and stately homes costs insurers over £500m in the UK each year, while the global total is over £4bn. Details: www.buccleuch.com