Ministers covered up theft of RAF files
Matthew Hickley writes in the Daily Mail:
Ministers covered up the theft of highly-sensitive personal information on key military personnel including their extramarital affairs, debt problems and drug abuse.
The details were volunteered in strictest confidence by 500 individuals undergoing high-level security vetting before being given access to Top Secret material.
Military insiders fear their loss could leave many senior officers open to blackmail.
The files were left unencrypted on a computer hard drive which was stolen from a cupboard in a supposedly secure area of an RAF base eight months ago. Police have failed to find any trace.
Defence ministers confirmed the theft publicly within weeks of it happening last year. But they kept secret from Parliament the embarrassing truth that the files contained the most sensitive personal details imaginable relating to hundreds of senior military figures.
Privacy campaigners voiced disbelief yesterday over the poor security given the nature of the files and questioned how the public could have faith in the Government’s ability to safeguard personal details as part of the ID card scheme.
More detailed information available via the web site of the former RAF officer who uncovered the deception via an FOI request.
