Confidential documents relating to the Royal Navy’s operation at a Kent bus station
The Royal Navy’s proposed Security Council statement that sparked a dispute with Russia last week was found at a Kent bus stop.
The paper page, which has about 50 pages, was found by a member of the public last week gave them to the BBC. The MoD has confirmed that the loss of the documents was reported at the time by an employee and that the department has now launched an investigation into the breach of security.
This discovery comes at a time when UK military forces are being monitored. The British bomber, HMS Defender, swept through raging waters off the coast of Crimea on Wednesday, causing a an attack from Moscow.
Russia has sent 20 planes and two submarines to warn the UK offshore that it has been claiming since Crimea was seized seven years ago. Russia’s security ministry has said warning bullets have been fired at a British bomber and bombs have been dropped, but the UK has denied the allegations.
According to the BBC, the document outlined two ways HMS Defender would travel from Ukraine to Georgia. One route has been described as a “reliable and direct route from Odesa to Batumi”, a temporary combination through a “vehicle separation program” near the southwestern part of Crimea.
According to the documents, the approach “will provide an opportunity to connect with the Ukrainian government… Which the UK recognizes as Ukrainian water”.
The papers developed a number of Russian responses, ranging from “safe and professional” to “non-safe or professional”.
Other documents that are more complex, I write “secret UK eyes only”, discuss plans for a possible UK military presence in Afghanistan after Nato’s US-led operation is due to be completed by September.
While the BBC said it had stopped broadcasting information that could jeopardize security in the UK and its allied forces, it said the newspaper was responding to the question of whether British special forces remained in Afghanistan as soon as they left.
“Every step in the UK in Afghanistan that continues… Is considered an easy shot by a group of actors,” the document reads, adding that “the opportunity to quit altogether still exists.”
Responding to the availability of the data, the MoD said it takes information security “very seriously” and that an investigation has been launched. “The employee reported the loss at the time. It would be inappropriate to respond again,” he said.
In a detailed release of HMS Defender, the MoD said, “as people would expect, they are preparing carefully”.
“As a matter of course, it involves considering all the factors that could affect career choices,” he added.
But John Healey, secretary general of occupational safety, said the violation was “as disgraceful as the grievance of ministers”.
“It is important for an internal inquiry into which the secretary of state is able to establish as soon as possible how the highest quality documents have been removed from the Ministry of Defense and then left as follows,” Healey said.
“In the end, the Ministers need to make it clear to the public that national security has not been compromised, that no military force or security has been compromised and that appropriate measures are in place to prevent this.”
Source link
