Whitehall loses 50 laptops and phones a WEEK
WHITEHALL departments lost 50 laptops and phones a week last year, shocking figures reveal.
MPs have demanded an urgent inquiry into a worrying increase in the number of electronic devices that have been mislaid or stolen from Government departments.
More than 8,000 laptops and phones that could contain sensitive and classified information have gone missing in the past five years, according to official figures.
The Ministry of Defence topped the charts, with 931 recorded as lost or stolen in that time, with the Ministry of Justice just behind on 723. Since 2018, the Government has lost track of 3,268 laptops given to staff for work. The number going missing each year has almost doubled from 2021 to 2022, with a total of 559 missing at the end of 2021, rising to 912 in 2022.
Since 2018, 5,217 mobile phones given to Government employees have been either lost or stolen, including 1,555 in 2022.
The Ministry of Justice had the most missing phones with 961 in the past five years, followed by the Home Office with 855 and the Foreign Office with 696.
Last year, an investigation was announced after a senior MoD official left a pile of papers, including secret files, at a bus stop in Kent.
The Liberal Democrats, who requested the figures, yesterday demanded an inquiry to establish how so many electronic devices have gone missing, and whether there have been any security breaches as a direct result.
Lib Dem Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney said: ‘The sheer number of missing phones and laptops paint an alarming picture of carelessness within our Government.
‘It’s frankly terrifying to think what kind of sensitive information could be held on these devices. If one of these lost or stolen phones or laptops fell into the wrong hands, it could pose a serious threat to our national and personal security. Ministers need to launch an official inquiry without any delay.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘We take the security of Government devices extremely seriously, which is why devices such as laptops and mobile phones are always encrypted, so any loss does not compromise security.’