London: Downing Street officials say Britain’s secrets weren’t at risk despite a photograph showing Prime Minister David Cameron’s official red box of papers left in public view on a train table.
A front-page photograph on Monday in the Daily Mirror showed the famous, battered red box marked “Prime Minister” apparently unattended while Cameron left his seat on a weekend train to Scotland.
The newspaper said other passengers could have rifled through the box and studied secret plans for military options in Syria or details about disagreements with Russia over policy toward Syria.
A Downing Street statement, however, indicated that Cameron’s security team was in place and the box was not unattended.
In the past, British government-owned laptops containing sensitive information have been left on public transport, prompting tighter rules on security. Cameron moved away from his table, leaving the red box behind with the key still in it and with no security cover, the Daily Mirror reported on Monday.
A fellow passenger on the train took a photograph of the red box which was published by the newspaper.
“I carried on walking through the train and two carriages on I saw the PM’s red briefcase on a table all alone. First of all I couldn’t believe that Cameron was on the train unprotected, I just walked past him,” the report quoted the passenger as saying.
“I could have quite easily have damaged it or scratched it or run off with it. And above all I couldn’t believe the key was in the lock. It was just sitting there. I could probably have run off with it if I’d wanted to. But instead I took a photo,” the passenger said.
Criticising the PM for leaving the official case behind, former deputy prime minister John Prescott told the Daily Mail: “I’m staggered that a prime minister should be so slack about looking after government secrets.
