Prime secret paperwork left at a bus cease by a hapless civil servant contained the places of British particular forces in Kabul and endangered the lives of elite US troopers, it has emerged.
The extremely categorized Ministry of Defence papers, marked ‘Secret UK eyes solely’, have been picked up by a member of the general public in Kent in June final 12 months earlier than being handed to the BBC.
The pile of just about 50 information had been dropped by Oxford-educated Angus Lapsley, 52, a ‘diplomat’ on the Overseas Workplace who was tipped to grow to be the UK ambassador to Nato.
A Whitehall supply has now revealed the paperwork contained the places of elite US troopers within the Afghanistan capital, which left People ‘livid’ and sparked a transatlantic spat.
They informed the Occasions there have been fears the breach might endanger the lives of US servicemen and girls, a lot of whom have been in the identical places as their British counterparts.
The supply mentioned the papers listed the precise variety of troopers within the areas dotted round Kabul, which fell to the Taliban final August following the US-UK withdrawal.
A UK Authorities spokesperson informed MailOnline right now that Mr Lapsley continues to have his safety clearance suspended forward of a full assessment.
They mentioned the MoD and Overseas Workplace collaborated intently on the case and ‘proceed to take action’.
The pile of just about 50 information had been dropped by Oxford-educated Angus Lapsley (pictured), 52, a ‘diplomat’ on the Overseas Workplace who was tipped to grow to be the UK ambassador to Nato
It was beforehand revealed that the papers additionally included particulars of a Royal Navy warship’s passage by Crimea’s disputed territorial waters.
Such delicate intelligence will not be allowed to be taken from authorities buildings until correctly logged out and securely saved.
In response to the supply, Lapsley picked up the pages from the in-tray on his desk and took them house with him.
It was the subsequent morning once they fell out of his bag as he was speeding to work, earlier than they have been discovered moist and piled up on the bus cease, earlier than being dried out and handed over.
Lapsley tried to assert the papers weren’t of a extremely delicate nature, the supply alleged, earlier than the BBC found they contained high secret memos.
Mr Lapsley averted being charged for breaching the Official Secrets and techniques Act and was redeployed throughout the Overseas Workplace – lacking out on his Nato promotion.
He was additionally taken off delicate work and had has clearance suspended.
MailOnline has contacted Mr Lapsley for remark.
Former navy attaché on the British embassy in Kabul, Colonel Simon Diggins, informed the Occasions that data on the whereabouts of particular forces was ‘usually very delicate and deeply shut held’.
He added: ‘Particular forces operations are thought to be very discreet so for that data to be revealed I might regard it to be a severe breach of safety.
‘Having the data within the public in such a careless method can be thought to be a severe safety failure.’
It comes after one other senior civil servant, Richard Jackson, was charged for breaching the Official Secrets and techniques Act in 2008 when he left high secret paperwork on a practice, together with extremely delicate information on al-Qaeda and Iraq.
Mr Lapsley averted being charged for breaching the Official Secrets and techniques Act and was redeployed throughout the Overseas Workplace – lacking out on his Nato promotion. Pictured: Mr Lapsley Chilean actress Cecilia Bolocco and former UK Ambassador to Chile Jon Benjamin on the launch of the GREAT marketing campaign in Chile in 2012
He was fined £2,500 after leaving the memos on a practice from London, earlier than they have been, once more, handed to the BBC by a member of the general public.
Mr Lapsley has been a ‘diplomat’ on the Overseas Workplace since August, in response to his Linkedin profile, and was beforehand an envoy to Brussels.
It was beforehand reported that the majority papers he dropped have been marked ‘official delicate’, a low degree of classification.
However one addressed to the Defence Secretary’s non-public secretary was marked ‘Secret UK Eyes Solely’ and addressed whether or not particular forces would keep in Afghanistan after Joe Biden’s choice to withdraw US troops.
A Whitehall supply mentioned on the time: ‘The doc shouldn’t have been taken out of the constructing on this method and on this case.’
Tory MP James Sunderland mentioned in June final 12 months that there should have needed to be a ‘deliberate act’ in eradicating a pink doc from an MoD safe space.
A UK Authorities spokesperson mentioned right now: ‘The UK Authorities takes the safety of its data extraordinarily critically.
‘The investigation has independently confirmed the circumstances of the loss and the style during which it occurred.
‘The investigation has confidence that every one Secret papers have been recovered, there was no proof of espionage and there was no compromise of the paperwork by adversaries.
‘The person involved has been faraway from delicate work and has already had their safety clearance suspended pending a full assessment.”
