International Law

Yet Another Review of Whitehall data security - Sir David Omand . Was it an MI5 Security Service officer who lost the Top Secret JIC documents on the train ?

The latest Whitehall national security data scandal is, apparently, "very serious":

Yes, Prime Minister Christmas Special - Party Games, BBC: 17 December 1984:

Jim Hacker: "Yes, well this is serious."
Chief Whip: "Very serious."
Sir Humphrey: "Very serious."
Jim Hacker: "What could happen if either of them became PM?"
Sir Humphrey: "Something very serious indeed."
Chief Whip: "Very serious."
Jim Hacker: "I see...."
Chief Whip: "Serious repercussions."
Sir Humphrey: "Serious repercussions."
Chief Whip: "Of the utmost seriousness."
Jim Hacker: "Yes, that is serious."
Sir Humphrey: "In fact, I would go so far as to say, that it could hardly be more serious."
Jim Hacker: "Well, I think we all agree then: this is serious."

Ed Miliband, the Cabinet Office Minister, and, incredibly, the brother of the Foreign Secretary David Miliband (the nepotistic NuLabour Cabinet resembles a Mafia organised crime "family") has made an oral Statement to the House of Commons, regarding this latest data security scandal (see below)

1) Sir David Ormand , the retired former permanent secretary for security and intelligence at the Cabinet Office, seems to be conducting Yet Another Inquiry prompted by this Top Secret JIC papers left on a train affair.

2) Why is it not Robert Hannigan, the Head of Security, Intelligence and Resilience and Security Adviser to the Prime Minister who is conducting this review ?

He has supervised a similar review of procedures for his boss, Sir Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary and head of the Civil Service (i.e. "Sir Humphrey Appleby") , across all Whitehall departments following the Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Naional Audit Office (NAO) Child Benefit national scale database privacy disaster.

Has Sir David Omand been called in, because there is the possability that Robert Hannigan himself is going to be blamed for the disaster, rather than Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell, or any Labour Minister ?

3) Is the hapless idiot who broke the security procedures to cause this scandal, actually an MI5 Security Service officer attached to the JIC assessments staff, as has been alleged (under Parliamentary Privilege) by Andrew MacKinlay MP ?

Commons Hansard 12 Jun 2008 : Columns 485 - 495

Cabinet Office Assessment (Documents)
1.21 pm

The Minister for the Cabinet Office (Edward Miliband): With permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement about events relating to the loss and recovery of two Joint Intelligence Committee documents.

Full post as published by Spy Blog on June 13, 2008 (boomark / email).