International   

Britain’s open secrets

LONDON: Secret government documents on Al-Qaeda and Iraq were left on a commuter train, prompting a major police investigation into the latest in a series of embarrassing security breaches.

The documents were with a senior intelligence official in the Cabinet office and were found by a passenger on a London commuter train on Tuesday. The envelope was then passed to the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Seven pages stamped ‘UK Top Secret’ included the latest government intelligence assessment on Al-Qaeda and Iraq’s security forces, the BBC said on Wednesday. They were stamped “for UK/US/Canadian and Australian eyes only.” The first page was dated June 5, the BBC reported.

Two of the assessments were made by the British Government’s Joint Intelligence Committee. The report on Iraq was commissioned by the Ministry of Defence. The Al-Qaeda report was commissioned by the Foreign and the Home Offices. The assessments often include intelligence material gathered from agents on the ground.

“Two documents which are marked as secret were left on a train and have subsequently been handed to the BBC,” according to a Cabinet office spokesman.

The intelligence official concerned was still working at the Cabinet office, pending a police investigation. Britain’s Official Secrets Act prohibits the passing of sensitive information that could affect national security.

The BBC said it could not reveal the documents’ exact contents after receiving legal advice.

The security assessments often include intelligence material gathered from agents on the ground and could prompt terror cells to change tactics or alert terrorists to British surveillance techniques, according to a British security official.

The security breach is the latest in a string of government data losses and comes as Britain pushes for an expansion of its national DNA database — already the largest per capita in the world — and works to finalise plans for an ID programme.

“This is just the latest in a long line of serious breaches of security... further highlighting the most basic failures in this government’s ability to maintain our security,” said Pauline Neville-Jones of the opposition Conservative party.

“There should be strict guidelines about when such secret documents are outside carefully monitored premises,” said Chris Huhne with the Liberal Democrats, the third largest opposition party. — AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

China-Taiwan parleys after 9 years
U.S.: Taliban was the target
Maoists resign from Cabinet
Fukuda wins trust vote
Resettlement, reconstruction in China
Colombo for action against TRO
Turkish attractions
Britain’s open secrets

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu