Secret Papers Relating To Iraq War On Stolen Laptop

Highly sensitive documents relating to the Iraq War have been stolen after being left unguarded on a train by a lawyer working for the U.K. Government. The lawyer, who was working for the Treasury Solicitor’s Department, which provides legal services to central government offices, lost a suitcase containing Ministry of Defence papers on Monday morning while travelling on the Leeds to London train.

It is not yet known exactly what aspect of the Iraq War the documents relate to. Eversheds has carried out public-private partnership work for the Ministry of Defence in the past, including advising on the Combined Aerial Target Service project, which awarded a £300 million contract to provide targeting services for the military.

A spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office said: “Legal papers in the possession of a lawyer for a firm of private solicitors working for the Treasury Solicitor’s Department were taken from a train on February 16. The possible theft is under investigation by British Transport Police. Action is under way in an attempt to recover the papers

No mention of encryption or other security software that could have mitigated the risk posed by this data breach.