MoD admits another laptop stolen

A total of 659 MoD laptops have been stolen since 2004

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed another laptop containing "sensitive information" was stolen while an official checked out of a hotel.

An MoD spokesman said the theft from the Britannia Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool on Thursday brought the total number of laptops stolen to 659.

On Friday the MoD admitted that 658 of its laptops had been stolen over the past four years.

The details were disclosed in response to questions tabled in Parliament.

Police investigation

In the latest laptop theft on Thursday, the official had placed the laptop on the ground at the Liverpool hotel when it was stolen, the MoD spokesman said.

A spokesman for Merseyside Police confirmed officers were investigating the theft. No other details were released.

The department insists its policies are "generally fit for purpose", and said all data losses were fully investigated.

Previously the MoD had confessed to 347 laptops being stolen between 2004 and 2007, but Defence Secretary Des Browne was forced to issue revised figures after "anomalies in the reporting process" were discovered.

The official total is now 659 laptops stolen, with another 89 lost. Just 32 laptops have been recovered.

In a separate response, ministers said 121 of the department's USB memory sticks had been taken or misplaced since 2004.

Some 26 of those went this year - including three which contained information classified as "secret" and 19 which were "restricted".

Last month the MoD was heavily criticised by a review of its data procedures which warned that basic security discipline had been forgotten and there was "little awareness" of the danger of losing information.

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