Oliver Letwin faces investigation after disposing of documents in park bin

Revelation that PM’s chief policy adviser has been seen throwing away papers in public bin sparks concern over security risks The office of the Information Commissioner has confirmed it is investigating claims that the Conservative minister Oliver Letwin has been disposing of government documents in bins in a park close to Downing Street. The revelation that Letwin, David Cameron’s chief policy adviser, has been seen throwing away documents in the park on five occasions has sparked concern about potential security risks as well as data protection breaches. The Labour MP and shadow minister without portfolio Michael Dugher has written to the cabinet secretary, Gus O’Donnell, to demand an investigation into the classification of any discarded documents and whether strict procedures for the disposal of government documents were breached. The office of the Information Commissioner is examining whether a lax disposal of the documents could involve a breach of the Data Protection Act. A spokeswoman said: “We are aware of the allegations and are making inquiries. Keeping personal data secure is a key principle of the Data Protection Act, and the ICO takes any breach of that principle very seriously.” The Daily Mirror reported that Letwin discarded more than 100 papers, including correspondence on terrorism and national security and constituents’ private details. The paper described the Cabinet Office minister’s actions as a “security breach”, but a spokesman for Letwin insisted the papers were not of a sensitive nature. The spokesman said: “Oliver Letwin does some of his parliamentary and constituency correspondence in the park before going to work, and sometimes disposes of copies of letters there.” One of the documents thrown away by Letwin was said to describe how intelligence chiefs “failed to get the truth” about Britain’s involvement in terrorist interrogations. Dugher said: “This shows how out of touch Oliver Letwin and Conservatives really are. He and the rest of the Tory-led government are treating the public and their constituents with contempt by handling sensitive correspondence in this cavalier way.” In his letter to O’Donnell, Dugher wrote: “Civil servants are subject to disciplinary procedures if the proper processes are not adhered to. It cannot be that there is one rule for ministers and another for everyone else.” Letwin, the MP for West Dorset, is an early riser who does a morning circuit of St James’s Park, usually starting at 5.30am. In this period he dictates letters for typing by his secretary during the day. The Labour backbencher Jeremy Corbyn told Radio 5 Live that while he enjoyed the “idea of ministers walking around the park in the morning”, carrying confidential documents was wrong. “It’s a remarkably silly thing to do,” the MP for Islington North said. “I quite like the idea of a minister walking around the park in the morning and thinking about things and maybe reading papers – but to then dump them all in a bin is really very stupid, because he could easily be spotted and followed and anybody could then pick them up. “Whatever these documents were, that’s obviously wrong – but he could also be carrying around constituents’ letters, which are often highly personal and very confidential. “There are plenty of ways of getting rid of sensitive documents. All the parliamentary papers are shredded and so are the ones in the House of Commons and presumably the ministry as well.” The revelations present a further headache for Cameron in a week during which Downing Street has been forced onto the back foot over the defence secretary, Liam Fox. Zac Goldsmith, the Tory MP for Richmond, tweeted: “How is Oliver Letwin working in the park newsworthy?! Whoever in Labour has asked for (yet another) inquiry shd be put to sleep.” Oliver Letwin Conservatives Liberal-Conservative coalition Hélène Mulholland Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 14, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.