The paperwork includes details about soldiers’ ranks, shift patterns, email addresses, weapon issue records and access information for military facilities
The Ministry of Defence is investigating after a cache of documents containing sensitive military information was found in the street. The papers, some marked “official – sensitive”, were discovered spilling out of a black bin bag in the Scotswood area of Newcastle on March 16.
The paperwork includes details about soldiers’ ranks, shift patterns, email addresses, weapon issue records and access information for military facilities and appears to relate to relate to units based at Catterick Garrison, the BBC has reported. One sheet reportedly headed “armoury keys and hold IDS codes” believed to reference an armoury and intruder detection system.
The find was made by Mike Gibbard, a football fan from Gateshead, who stumbled across the documents while parking ahead of Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup final clash with Liverpool.
He told the BBC he was shocked by what he found within the documents. He said: “I peered down and started to see names on bits of papers, and numbers, and I thought ‘what’s that?
“They were piled up against a wall, in a black bag, in the road, underneath cars – spread all the way up the road.” He said he found more documents on the other side of the road and was alarmed by the contents.
He added: “Details of the perimeter, the patrol, checking weapons in and out, requests for leave, mobile phone numbers, high-ranking officers. This shouldn’t be here, anyone could pick it up.”
Government guidance states that some “official – sensitive” documents could pose a “threat to life” if compromised. The documents were handed in to Northumbria Police and a spokesperson said they were subsequently given to the MoD.
In a statement, a MoD 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.”
Government guidelines recommend that sensitive documents be destroyed using shredders or “burn bags”.
In 2021, top secret Ministry of Defence documents revealing details about HMS Defender and the British military were found at a bus stop. The papers, which comprised almost 50 pages, were reportedly found in a wet pile behind a bus stop in Kent on Tuesday morning.
They cover a range of subjects, including the expected Russian reaction to the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Defender passing through Ukrainian waters off the coast of Crimea.
Labour has branded the blunder a ‘worrying embarrassment’ and called on ministers to reassure the public that national security has not been undermined.
