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ITN
Document loss 'security rules breach'
Document loss 'security rules breach'
Cabinet Office Minister Ed Miliband has said the loss of intelligence documents was "a breach of security rules".It is understood that the two documents - both marked "Secret" - relate to al-Qaeda in Pakistan and the security situation in Iraq.They were reportedly found by another passenger on a train from London Waterloo to Surrey.A senior Whitehall official who works in the Cabinet Office's intelligence and security unit has been suspended from his duties as part of a standard Civil Service disciplinary procedure.Mr Miliband told the Commons: "This was a clear breach of well established security rules which forbid the removal of documents of this kind outside secure Government premises without clear authorisation and compliance with special security procedures."In this case, "no authorisation was sought for the removal of the documents" and the official has been suspended as part of a standard civil service disciplinary procedure.Mr Miliband said that there was no evidence to suggest that vital national security interests have been damaged or that any individuals or operations have been put at risk.He said that the former Permanent Secretary for Security and Intelligence Sir David Omand had been asked to carry out a full investigation of the circumstances of the case.The incident is the latest in a series of embarrassing losses of Government information, including the disappearance of personal details of millions of child benefit recipients on a disc sent through the post.The individual who left the documents on the train is a senior civil servant working in the Cabinet Office's intelligence and security unit, which contributes to the work of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC).It is understood that his work involves writing and contributing to intelligence and security assessments and that he has the authority to take documents of this sort out of the Cabinet Office, as long as strict procedures to ensure their safety are observed.One of the documents is a seven-page report by the JIC on "Al-Qaeda Vulnerabilities" and is understood to look at the state of the Islamist terror network in Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan.Commissioned by the Foreign Office and Home Office, the document was classified "UK top secret" and was considered so sensitive that each page was numbered and marked "For UK, US, Canadian and Australian eyes only".The second document, commissioned from the JIC by the Ministry of Defence, reportedly contained an assessment of Iraq's security forces.Officials are playing down the security danger posed by the papers falling into the wrong hands.It is understood that neither of the documents contained details of names of individuals or locations which might have been useful to Britain's enemies.One Whitehall source said: "The embarrassment of the loss is greater than the embarrassment of the contents of the documents. We don't believe there is a threat to any individuals in what was in these documents if they had got into the wrong hands."
ITN | June 12, 2008
