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860 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsYes, indeed. My hon. Friend makes a good point: tablets and electronic devices have password protection and encryption, which, as I understand it, prevent these incidents from…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsAbsolutely. Again, that is not the subject of this UQ, but my hon. Friend can rest assured that we will continue to conduct ourselves appropriately and professionally, as the…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsThe investigation is partly to find out what happened and the circumstances behind the mislaying of these documents. I will not prejudge whether others were involved; it just…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsMr Speaker, you will be very relieved that the Secretary of State is not here, given that he was in contact with someone who has tested positive for covid-19.28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsI am not going to say whether it is human recklessness, or what it is, until the investigation has reported. As I say, there are quite serious policies and procedures in place;…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsThere is indeed a security brief; my understanding is that it is mandated to take place for all employees annually and that it includes information on how documents should be…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsOn the latter point, I could not agree more. The comments I have received from members of the armed forces today reiterate that. It is absolutely vital that they should have…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsI understand where my right hon. Friend is coming from. This is something that he has mentioned previously in the House. As I recall, there was reference to this in the Queen’s…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsThis is a mistake, it appears. I do not want to prejudge the investigation, but it appears that it is a mistake by an individual. It is important that one gets on top of that…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsIn an ideal and proper world, the documents should not have been available where they were, so that is where the original fault clearly lies. In the event of documents of this…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsAs the House will be aware, a number of Ministry of Defence classified documents were lost by a senior official early last week. Upon realising the loss of documents, the…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsI will take all those points in turn. I share the right hon. Gentleman’s concern over the incident. We take the loss of all data and documents very seriously. In direct answer to…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsAs I mentioned to the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone), there are policies and procedures in place as to how documents can be safely taken out…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsThe irony will not be lost on the hon. Gentleman that, whereas he referred to massive data accumulations through the internet and online services, what we are talking about here…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsWe will certainly ensure that that information is known to Members. We should ensure that the outcome of the investigation, and certainly whether any further tightening of our…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsI would not, as a matter of course, comment on the discussions we hold with our friends and allies overseas, but my hon. Friend is absolutely right to refer to the agreement…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsThe hon. Lady refers to the BBC choosing not to report, and I think that was right. One would have preferred the BBC to have handed the documents straight over, but it acted…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsAbsolutely; that is an ongoing task. There is intense planning behind all defence engagements and activities. That continues to be the case, and we always ensure that it is the…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsI have already confirmed that the MOD police are involved in this process, but I can assure the right hon. Lady that all those whose involvement in the investigation is relevant…28 Jun 2021HANSARD Loss of Secret DocumentsI can reassure my right hon. Friend that we constantly update and keep abreast of developments on the ground in Afghanistan and indeed in other theatres, but I would not wish to…28 Jun 2021