The top-secret documents, which contained sensitive information about the locations of British special forces and threatened the lives of US soldiers, were found at a bus station by a poor civil servant.
One member of the public from Kent seized the Ministry of Defence papers marked ‘Secret UK only’ in June 2013 before they were handed over to the BBC.
The 52-year-old, Oxford-educated Angus Lapsley had dropped the pile with almost 50 files. He was a ‘diplomat at the Foreign Office and was tipped for the role of UK ambassador to NATO.
Whitehall has revealed that documents contained locations for elite US soldiers stationed in Afghanistan Capital. The revelation left Americans “furious” and caused a transatlantic row.
The Times was told by the servicemen that there were concerns about the compromise posing a danger to the lives of US military personnel, who often were stationed in the same areas as British counterparts.
According to the source, the documents listed exactly how many soldiers were present in Kabul’s areas. These numbers fell to Taliban hands last August after the US-UK withdrawal.
The 52-year-old, Oxford-educated Angus Lapsley had dropped the pile with almost 50 files (pictured), 52. Lapsley was a ‘diplomat at the Foreign Office and was tipped as the UK’s ambassador to Nato
These papers included information about the passage of a Royal Navy warship through Crimea’s territorial waters.
This sensitive information cannot be removed from government buildings without being properly log out and stored securely.
The source claims that Lapsley took the in-tray pages off his desk and brought them with him home.
The next day, they were discovered wet in his bag while rushing to get to work. They were then piled at the bus stop before being dried and given over.
Lapsley attempted to argue that the papers were not highly sensitive. The source claimed they had top secret memos.
Lapsley was not charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act, and was re-deployed to the Foreign Office. He missed out on the Nato promotion.
He was removed from sensitive work, and his clearance was suspended while the investigation took place.
However, it’s not known if his security clearance was restored.
MailOnline reached out for comment to the Foreign Office, Mr Lapsley, and they were happy to assist.
Former military attaché at the British embassy in Kabul, Colonel Simon Diggins, told the Times that information on the whereabouts of special forces was ‘normally very sensitive and deeply close held’.
He said, “Special forces operations can be very discrete so I consider it a serious breach in security.”
“It would be considered a grave security problem if the information was made available in such an inconsiderate manner.”
It comes after another senior civil servant, Richard Jackson, was charged for breaching the Official Secrets Act in 2008 when he left top secret documents on a train, including highly sensitive files on al-Qaeda and Iraq.
Lapsley was spared from prosecution for violating the Official Secrets Act. He was transferred to the Foreign Office and did not receive his Nato promotion. Pictured are Cecilia Bolocco, a Chilean actress and Mr Lapsley Jon Benjamin, a former Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Chile at the 2012 launch of GREAT in Chile
He was fined £2,500 after leaving the memos on a train from London, before they were, again, handed to the BBC by a member of the public.
According to his Linkedin profile Mr Lapsley is a ‘diplomat at’ the Foreign Office from August to date and previously served as an ambassador in Brussels.
He had previously claimed that many papers that he lost were classified as ‘officially sensitive’. This is a very low classification.
One, however, was addressed to the Defense Secretary’s Private Secretary. It was marked “Secret UK Eyes Only” and asked if special forces will remain in Afghanistan following Joe Biden’s withdrawal.
Whitehall sources stated at that time, “The document shouldn’t have been removed from the building in such a way and in such a case.”
James Sunderland, Tory MP and author of the June 2013 report said that it had to have been a deliberate act by MoD security area staffers to remove a pink paper from a secure zone.
According to the Foreign Office, “The person concerned was removed from sensitive work. Their security clearance has been suspended in anticipation of a thorough review.”