Thief Took British Defense Minister's Laptop

[William Knowles <wk () C4I ORG>]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGIY61C129C.html

Jun 3, 2000 - 10:03 PM

LONDON (AP) - A thief stole the laptop computer of the government
minister in charge of Britain's nuclear policy, but it did not contain
defense information, the Ministry of Defense said Saturday.

The ministry was responding to a report in the Sunday People tabloid
that the computer had been stolen.

The incident March 25 was one of a series of laptop losses from
government and military officials that prompted a review of security
procedures.

In this case, the thief smashed a window at the home of armed forces
minister John Spellar in Bromley, southern England, and took the
laptop but did not touch the two red official government boxes in the
house that contained defense information.

"No attempt was made to open or remove them," a ministry spokesman
said on customary terms of anonymity.

The computer held only information about the legislator's electoral
constituency.

Spellar is in charge of nuclear policy and has responsibility for the
military's role in Northern Ireland, and defense intelligence
operations.

In early March, a laptop containing training information for MI6, the
spy agency responsible for foreign intelligence, was lost by an
intelligence officer and recovered by police two weeks later.

The same month, a second laptop with classified material on Northern
Ireland was snatched from a security service officer at London's
Paddington Station when the officer put it down to buy a train ticket.

In early May, a naval officer lost his computer and his personal
luggage after boarding a train at Paddington station. It did not
contain classified information, the spokesman said.


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