More than 1,600 classified MOD documents including ID cards are lost or stolen in one year after department is hit by 3,000 security breaches 

  • Worrying figures show 73 unathorised entries to military bases in a year
  • Hundreds of classified documents and cards have 'gone missing' or been stolen  
  • Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said news is concerning and calls for urgent review 
  • MI5 said the current terror level threat in Britain remains at 'severe' 

By LARISSA BROWN, DEFENCE CORRESPONDENT FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Published: | Updated:

'Very concerning': Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, pictured, is calling on an urgent review 

'Very concerning': Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, pictured, is calling on an urgent review 

More than 1,600 classified documents including ID cards have gone missing or been stolen from the Ministry of Defence in just one year.

Officials recorded 2,923 security breaches in 2016 including 73 unauthorised entries into military bases. The figures came from defence minister Mark Lancaster in response to a parliamentary question from Tim Farron.

Calling for an urgent review, the Liberal Democrat leader said last night: ‘Given that the threat level at the moment is severe, meaning an attack is likely, it is very concerning that security at military bases has been breached.

‘Classified material has gone missing, this should send a shiver down the spine of everyone who cares about our defence ... The Government need to wake up.’

In his response, Mr Lancaster said all breaches were taken very seriously. He added: ‘All incidents are subjected to an initial risk assessment, with further action taken on a proportionate basis.’

Red alert: Britain’s current terror threat level remains at ‘severe’, according to MI5. Pictured above, the security services' headquarters in London

Red alert: Britain’s current terror threat level remains at ‘severe’, according to MI5. Pictured above, the security services' headquarters in London

The MoD said: ‘While none of these incidents resulted in any significant consequences, security and safety is of the utmost importance, with all breaches reported investigated appropriately.’ 

Britain’s current terror threat level remains at ‘severe’, according to MI5 – one short of the highest level, critical.

A level of ‘critical’ means an attack is expected ‘imminently’.

In the wake of the Westminster terror attack last Wednesday, more troops have been deployed at the gates of military bases to provide an extra layer of security. 

According to the figures, there were 1,640 ‘information assurance’ security incidents reported for thefts or losses of classified material in 2016.

Lost and stolen ID cards accounted for 1,280 of this total. The remaining 360 incidents covered lost and stolen documents.

This included user access devices, hard disk drives, laptops and tablets, phones, CDs and USB device.

In the response, Mr Lancaster said: ‘The MoD treats all breaches of security very seriously and requires all breaches to be reported regardless of whether there is firm evidence of breach or otherwise.’

This cases in which there was an inability to account for a particular personal electronic device or an individual document for a period of time.

He added: ‘All incidents are subjected to an initial security risk assessment, with further action taken on a proportionate basis.’ 

Most watched News videos