Documents potentially of interest to criminal or terrorist organizations ended up in a recycling bin.
British soldiers / © Associated Press
A scandal has erupted in Great Britain after classified Ministry of Defence documents, containing the names and ranks of servicemen, duty schedules, and information on arms storage, were discovered among household waste.
This is reported by The Sun publication.
A folder marked “MoD” was found in a recycling container near Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire. The documents were found by a local resident who handed them over to the authorities to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.
“They should have either been shredded or stored securely,” said the man who found the papers.
Documents contained personnel and weapon data
According to the publication, the discarded materials included the names and ranks of military personnel, guard shift schedules, as well as information on the inventory of guard rooms and weapon storage systems.
Furthermore, the documents contained details about the inspection of secure safes with keys to ammunition and weapon depots, as well as descriptions of procedures for responding to incidents and alarms.
Experts emphasize that such information could be of interest to criminal or terrorist groups.
The Royal Military Police is investigating how documents covering the period from 2018 to 2023 ended up in a landfill several kilometers from a military base.
Investigators intend to trace the entire chain of their custody, from the barracks to the waste container.
Politicians and military personnel have called the incident a disgrace
Philip Ingram, a former senior officer in British Army military intelligence, stated that the incident indicates a “lack of attention and control” in handling sensitive information.
“The Army must take this seriously, as there is a clear security risk. This is a breach of procedures that demonstrates negligence,” he stressed.
Former UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson called the situation a “real security concern” and a “disgrace,” noting that documents of such sensitivity require particularly careful control at all stages, from creation to destruction.
The Ministry of Defence stated that it takes information security seriously and has already launched an investigation into the circumstances of the incident.
It was previously reported that during a trip to Kyiv, US General Antonio Aguto suffered a head injury after consuming alcohol. He later also lost a tube containing classified materials.
Comments Sort: New Old Popular Submit