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The U.S. has Signalgate, but the United Kingdom is grappling with the revelation that hundreds of sensitive military documents were found strewn on the ground in Newcastle.
The British Ministry of Defence is “urgently” investigating the incident, after hundreds of pages of ripped-up military documents were found on an industrial estate.
According to the BBC, the papers – some of which were marked sensitive – were discovered by a football fan nearly two weeks ago.
It is claimed they contained confidential information about soldiers, weapons, and shift patterns.
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A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “We are aware that documentation allegedly relating to the department was recently handed in to the police. “We are looking into this urgently, and the matter is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation.”
The MOD launched a similar investigation in 2021 when classified documents were found by a member of the public at a bus stop in Kent.
The papers contained details of the Royal Navy ship HMS Defender’s movements off the Crimean coast and plans for a UK military presence in Afghanistan.
Downing Street said “appropriate action” would be taken following the discovery of the documents.
A spokesman said: “The Ministry of Defence is currently looking at documents handed to the police, but the matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Army.
“As you will appreciate, I won’t be able to comment on any specifics while that takes place, but you can expect that appropriate action will be taken in response to any potential information breach.
“It’s obviously important that that investigation is allowed to take its course.”
– Based on a report from British Forces Net
