The discovery of these documents is a major embarrassment for Ministry of Defence, who is now carrying out a detailed investigation about the same
Classified documents from the Ministry of Defence containing details about HMS Defender, a Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for Royal Navy, and British military have been found at a bus stop in Kent, a county in the South Eastern England.
The first set includes information on Russia’s potential reaction to British Warship’s passage through Ukrainian waters off the Crimea Coast, where the British warship sailed through earlier this week. The second set has details of a plan for a possible United Kingdom (U.K.) military presence in Afghanistan, once the United States (U.S.) led operation ends there.
The Spokesperson for Ministry of Defence said that an employee had reported the loss of sensitive defence papers and that it would be inappropriate to comment further.
The official twitter handle of Ministry of Defence Press Office tweeted,
MOD was informed last week of an incident where sensitive defence papers were recovered by a member of the public.
— Ministry of Defence Press Office (@DefenceHQPress) June 27, 2021
We take security extremely seriously and have launched an investigation. The employee reported the loss at the time. It would be inappropriate to comment further.
The 50-page classified documents were found in a soggy heap. The documents contain emails and MS-Power Point Presentations.
As per the first set of documents, the mission was named “Op Ditroite”. It was a subject of high-level discussions with officials speculating about Russia’s reaction if HMS Defender sailed close to Crimea. Under the terms of the 1982 United Nations (U.N.) Convention on the Law of the Sea, the passage of a foreign ship is regarded as innocent when it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order, or security of the coastal state.
On Wednesday, June 23, 2021, more than 20 Russian aircraft and 2 coastguard ships shadowed the warship as it sailed about 12 miles (19km) off Crimea’s coast. Russian Defence Ministry said a patrol ship fired warning shots and a jet dropped bombs in the ship’s way. However, the British Government had rejected these claims as baseless.
The document also includes information on arms exports campaigns, including sensitive observations about areas where Britain might find itself competing with European allies. They also include briefing notes from a U.S.-U.K. Defence Dialogue and observations on the President of U.S. – Joe Biden’s first month in office. They also cover U.S.’s focus on China and Indo-Pacific. There are also suggestions of what Britain should be asking for.
The other set of documents “Secret UK Eyes Only”, outlines highly sensitive recommendations for the U.K.’s military presence in Afghanistan, following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, later this year. It details out U.S.’s request for British assistance in several specific areas, and addresses the question of whether any British special forces should remain in Afghanistan once the withdrawal is complete.
The discovery of these documents is a major embarrassment for Ministry of Defence, who is now carrying out a detailed investigation into how the papers came arrived at the bus stop.
