Whitehall official suspended for leaving al-Qaida files on train

Via: guardian.co.uk

A senior civil servant who left highly classified intelligence documents on a train was in “clear breach” of security rules, MPs were told today.

The top secret documents relating to al-Qaida and Iraq should not have been removed from government buildings, the Cabinet Office minister, Ed Miliband, told the Commons.

They were left on a commuter train on Tuesday morning by an unidentified member of the Joint Intelligence Committee assessment staff. They were subsequently handed to the BBC.

The prime minister, during his monthly news conference, said the police would investigate whether the documents were passed directly to the BBC or had “gone anywhere else” beforehand.

“Of course we take this seriously and of course any breach of intelligence cannot be condoned,” he said.

Miliband said the official – who has been suspended – had not asked for permission to remove the files. Sir David Omand, the former permanent secretary for security and intelligence, would carry out a full investigation.

Miliband said: “While the documents do not contain the names of individual sources or specific operational details, they are sensitive, high-level intelligence assessments. This was a clear breach of well established security.

“There is no evidence to suggest that our vital national security interests have been damaged or any individuals or operations have been put at risk. However the police investigation is continuing.”

All Joint Intelligence Committee staff have been reminded of the rules, as have officials in other Whitehall departments with access to sensitive material.

The Conservative spokesman Francis Maude said there scarcely could have been “a graver breach of intelligence and security procedures than this”.

The unidentified official was questioned in an internal inquiry after the files were found inside an orange cardboard envelope on a seat on a train from London Waterloo to Surrey.

The papers were passed to the BBC’s security correspondent, Frank Gardner, by the passenger who discovered them.

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