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Sensitive Defense Ministry documents found by member of public at bus stop Bedford News

The documents are said to contain details of HMS Defender and the military (Photo: Getty Images)

Sensitive Defense Ministry (MoD) documents were found by a member of the public at a bus stop, according to reports.

The Defense Ministry said the ministry launched an investigation after the employee affected by the loss of documents reported it last week.

What do the documents contain?

The documents would contain details of HMS Defender and the military.

The documents included a series of documents discussing Russia’s potential reaction to HMS Defender’s trip to Ukrainian waters off the coast of Crimea on Wednesday (June 23).

The other newspapers predicted a possible British military presence in Afghanistan.

The 50 pages of classified information were found in a soggy heap behind a bus stop in Kent early Tuesday (June 22) morning.

The member of the public who found the documents has contacted the BBC to report it and wishes to remain anonymous.

What did the Ministry of Defense say?

The Defense Ministry said the department was made aware of an incident involving the recovery of sensitive defense documents by a member of the public last week.

A spokesperson said: “The department takes information security very seriously and an investigation has been launched.

“The affected employee reported the incident at the time. It would be inappropriate to comment further.

Shadow Secretary of Defense John Healey called the incident “embarrassing” and said it was “worrying for ministers”.

He added: “It is essential that the internal investigation launched by the Secretary of State immediately establishes how highly classified documents were removed from the Defense Ministry in the first place and then left that way.

“Ultimately, ministers must be able to confirm to the public that national security has not been compromised, that no military or security operations have been affected and that the appropriate procedures are in place to ensure may nothing like this happen again. “

What is the HMS Defender?

HMS Defender is part of the British Carrier Strike Group and is currently heading to the Indo-Pacific region.

It was announced earlier this month that he would temporarily separate from the group to carry out his “own set of missions” in the Black Sea.

The Type 45 destroyer sparked a clash with Russian forces on Wednesday after crossing the waters south of the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia unofficially annexed to Ukraine in 2014, in a move that went unrecognized by international powers.

Moscow responded by having the ship watched by several planes at varying heights, the lowest being around 500 feet, which Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said was “neither safe nor professional.”

Russia also claimed warning shots were fired from their ships at the destroyer, although this was rejected by the UK government which said only a routine “artillery exercise” had taken place.

Moscow threatened to retaliate if the incident happened again, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted the warship was “absolutely right” to make the trip from Odessa to Ukraine to Georgia as a internationally recognized transit route.

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Source: www.bedfordtoday.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-06-27 09:33:04

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