See what a bunch of incompetent idiots the uk has in government !!!

Apparently there is no longer any reason for foreign countries to employ spies, all they have to do is watch the bus stops in and around Whitehall.


Sensitive defence documents ‘found by member of public at bus stop’

Laura Parnaby, PA
27 June 2021, 9:07 am


Sensitive defence documents containing details about HMS Defender and the military have been found by a member of the public at a bus stop, according to reports.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the employee concerned with the loss of documents reported it last week, and the department has launched an investigation.

A member of the public, who wanted to remain anonymous, contacted the BBC when they found 50 pages of classified information in a soggy heap behind a bus stop in Kent early on Tuesday morning.

The papers included one set of documents which discussed the potential Russian reaction to HMS Defender’s travel through Ukrainian waters off the Crimea coast on Wednesday, according to the BBC, while another laid out plans for a possible UK military presence in Afghanistan.

A spokesperson for the MoD said: “The Ministry of Defence was informed last week of an incident in which sensitive defence 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.”

Shadow defence secretary John Healey called the incident “as embarrassing as it is worrying for ministers”.

“It’s vital the internal inquiry launched by the Secretary of State establishes immediately how highly classified documents were taken out of the Ministry of Defence in the first place and then left in this manner,” he said.

“Ultimately ministers must be able to confirm to the public that national security has not been undermined, that no military or security operations have been affected and that the appropriate procedures are in place to ensure nothing like this happens again.”


The documents contained details on HMS Defender (Ben Mitchell/PA)
HMS Defender is part of the UK Carrier Strike Group currently heading to the Indo-Pacific region.

However, it was announced earlier this month that it would be temporarily breaking away from the group to carry out its “own set of missions” in the Black Sea.

The Type 45 destroyer caused a clash with Russian forces on Wednesday when it travelled through waters south of the Crimea peninsula, which Russia unofficially annexed from Ukraine in 2014, in a move which was not recognised by international powers.

Moscow responded by having several aircraft shadowing the ship at varying heights, the lowest being approximately 500 feet – which Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said was “neither safe nor professional”.

Russia also claimed that warning shots were fired by their vessels at the destroyer, but this assertion was dismissed by the UK Government which said only that a routine “gunnery exercise” took place.

Moscow has threatened to retaliate if the incident is repeated, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted the warship was “entirely right” to make the trip from Odessa in Ukraine to Georgia as an internationally-recognised transit route.

The MoD said that HMS Defender “conducted innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters in accordance with international law” and that “all potential factors” are considered when making “operational decisions”.

 

Seems my guess that the course of HMS Defender was deliberately provocative was correct, notwithstanding I had no access to the 'secret;' papers discovered abandoned at a bus stop in Kent.


What do classified documents found at Kent bus stop reveal about Russia confrontation?
Papers suggest UK military prepared for hostile Russian response to ‘Op Ditroite’ voyage in Black Sea

Adam Forrest@adamtomforrest
1 day ago
comments

Russia releases footage of alleged UK destroyer incident
A government investigation is under way after Ministry of Defence (MoD) documents containing details about a British warship’s controversial voyage off the Crimean coast were found at a bus stop in Kent.

The 50-page file containing details of the Black Sea operation was discovered in a “soggy heap” behind a bus stop in Kent on Tuesday by a member of the public, according to the BBC.

The MoD said it had been informed last week that “sensitive defence papers” has been recovered by a passer-by and shared with the public broadcaster. The ministry has now launched a probe.

Russia has already seized upon the embarrassing blunder. Foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova mocked the government, saying: “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?” she asked on social media platform Telegram.
So what exactly is contained in the documents, and what does it reveal about the government’s strategy on dealing with Russia and its claims on the Crimean peninsula?

Some of the emails and PowerPoint presentations in the papers relate to pre-operation plans for the British warship HMS Defender, which last week sailed through waters off the Crimea – a region Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 despite international condemnation.

The documents shared with the BBC appear to show that last week’s mission – dubbed “Op Ditroite” – was carried out in the knowledge that Russia could respond aggressively.

“What do we understand about the possible ‘welcome party’…?” one official had asked on the plan to head through Ukrainian waters just off the Crimea coast.

A presentation document warned: “Following the transition from defence engagement activity to operational activity, it is highly likely that RFN (Russian navy) and VKS (Russian air force) interactions will become more frequent and assertive.”

Three possible responses from Moscow to the HMS Defender’s voyage were assessed – from “safe and professional” to “neither safe nor professional”.

The documents also reveal that military chiefs also considered a less risky route through Ukrainian waters, much further away from the contested waters.

But presentation documents also warned that Russia would see the use of a less risky route as evidence of the UK “being scared” – allowing the Kremlin to claim that the UK now accepted its claim to the territorial waters around Crimea.


HMS Defender arrives at Black Sea port of Odessa

(Reuters)
Well aware of the spin war to come, officials also discussed how the operation would be perceived. “We have a strong, legitimate narrative,” they stated – pointing to the fact that the BBC and Daily Mail journalists on board would help provide “independent verification of HMS Defender’s action”.

In the event, HMS Defender sailed around 12 miles off the coast of Crimea on 23 June. Russia did indeed offer a hostile response – sending jets to buzz overhead and ships out to threaten the British warship.

Russia’s defence ministry also claimed that warning shots were fired and a bomb dropped in the path of HMS Defender – though the MoD tried to play down shots fired in the distance as part of a “gunnery exercise”.

While Downing Street attempted to portray the expedition as a routine voyage – and allies backed the idea the ship sailed through Ukrainian waters – some cabinet ministers were said to be unhappy about the confrontational nature of the mission.

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab had warned the MoD that sailing a warship so close to Crimea would be seen as too aggressive, according to The Times.

A separate document found in the soggy heap in Kent is thought to have contained recommendations for the UK’s military footprint in Afghanistan after Nato forces leave the country.

Labour said the discovery of the documents by a member of the public was “as embarrassing as it is worrying for ministers”.

Shadow defence minister John Healey said defence secretary Ben Wallace must confirm that national security had not been undermined and that procedures are in place “to ensure nothing like this happens again”.

Mr Wallace will have to carry out his inquiries from home. The minister and at least six of Britain’s most senior military figures are self-isolating after General Sir Nick Carter, the head of the Armed Forces, tested positive for Covid-19.

Mr Healey has been granted an urgent question in the Commons today in a bid to force defence ministers to set out more details on how the security blunder occurred.