According to the BBC, a member of the public found secret UK defense documents at a bus stop in southern England on Sunday. The classified documents from Britain’s military ministry were revealing information about a British warship and Russia’s possible reaction to its transit across the Black Sea. A member of the public discovered the documents, which totaled over 50 pages.
The Ministry of Defence stated it had been notified last week of “an incident in which sensitive defense papers were recovered by a member of the public”.
“The department takes the security of information extremely seriously and an investigation has been launched. The employee concerned reported the loss at the time. It would be inappropriate to comment further,” a spokesperson said.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova ridiculed the British government on Telegram. “London has used a number of lies to cover up the latest provocation. 007 (James Bond) is no longer the same.”
“And now a riddle-like question for the British parliament, why do we need ‘Russian hackers’ if there are British bus stops?”
Britain’s main opposition Labour Party declared the identification of the papers by a citizen was “as embarrassing as it is worrying for ministers”.
Ministers must certify that national security and security operations both remain harmed. According to Labor’s military policy leader John Healey, “procedures are in place to ensure nothing like this happens again.”
The papers, which included emails and also PowerPoint presentations, were reportedly a link to the British warship Defender. It likewise cruised through seas around the Crimean peninsula earlier this month, an area Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.
“Gunnery Exercise”
Russia stated on Wednesday that it had fired warning shots and dropped bombs in the ship’s route. Also, it was to chase it out of what the Kremlin claims are its sovereign seas. But the United Kingdom and the rest of the world consider being Ukrainian territory.
It later summoned Britain’s ambassador to Moscow for a formal diplomatic reprimand for what it called a provocation.
Britain disregarded Russia’s account of the event. It stated that any shots fired were part of a Russian “gunnery exercise” that it organized ahead of time. Also, Russia did not drop any explosives.
It acknowledged that the warship had passed through Ukrainian seas, defining its journey as “innocent passage” under international maritime law. The secret UK defense documents also proposed the ship’s mission was led in the expectation that Russia might counter aggressively.