'Sensitive' army papers found scattered in street

Piles of papers containing sensitive military information have been found scattered along a city street.

They include soldiers' ranks, emails, shift patterns and weapon issue details, and information which appears to relate to accessing weapons storage and an intruder detection system.

The documents were discovered spilling out of a black bin bag in the Scotswood area of Newcastle by a football fan on 16 March and, according to information security consultant Gary Hibberd, posed a "significant" threat to individuals named in them.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it was looking into the matter "urgently" and was conducting an internal investigation.

Downing Street said it could not comment on "any specifics" while the Army's investigation was taking place.

"But you can expect that appropriate action will be taken in response to any potential information breach," a spokesperson said.

The papers appear to be connected to British Army regiments and barracks at Catterick Garrison.

One document was headed "armoury keys and hold IDS codes", which the BBC understands relates to accessing an armoury - a storage area for weapons and ammunition - and an intruder detection system.

Another was footnoted with the words "official – sensitive" which, according to government guidance, can in some cases mean the information could lead to a "threat to life" if compromised.

Information contained in the dumped documents ranged from general medical advice to ingredients order sheets, along with people's ID numbers and email addresses.

The papers were discovered by Mike Gibbard, from Gateshead, as he parked his car before heading to a fanzone to watch Newcastle United's Wembley win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup Final.

"I peered down and started to see names on bits of papers, and numbers, and I thought 'what's that?'," he said.

The papers were piled up against a wall in a black bag and "in the road, underneath cars, spread all the way up the road".

"I found a lot more on the other side of the road that wasn't in a bag."

Mr Gibbard said he asked his wife: "Why is it here? This shouldn't be here, anyone could pick it up."

Describing the find as "crazy", he said he saw "details of the perimeter, the patrol, checking weapons in and out, requests for leave, mobile phone numbers, high ranking officers".

Gary Hibberd, an information security consultant with 35 years' experience, said the documents posed a "significant" threat to those individuals named.

"They could be easily identified through social media, they could potentially be coerced, they could be harassed," he said.

Government guidance on sensitive information reveals such documents could, in the wrong hands, lead to "moderate, short term damage" to UK or allied forces' military operations.

It adds: "However, in some exceptional circumstances, the compromise of more sensitive official information could lead to a threat to life."

All such documents should be disposed of in a "burn bag" or by shredding in an approved machine.

Mr Gibbard reported the find to Northumbria Police.

A spokesperson confirmed the force "received a report that potentially confidential documents had been found on Railway Street in the Scotswood area of Newcastle".

"The documents have now been handed to the Ministry of Defence."

An MoD spokesperson said: "We are looking into this urgently and the matter is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation."

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