Thieves Dodge Armed Police To Nab Laptops From Westminster

West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has called for a parliamentary inquiry after two laptops were pilfered from her Westminster office.

Baldwin said the laptops were stolen from her locked House of Commons office during the Jubilee Week, which was supposed to be protected by armed police. Scotland Yard is investigating the theft, which comes after a spate of thefts from offices in the House of Commons, she claimed.

All constituent data is stored on remote servers so no secure information has been lost, according to the MP.

It appeared the crooks had gotten around strong physical security. Every office in the House of Commons has a “sophisticated lock system”, according to Baldwin, although some workers as well as cleaners and postal staff have access to offices.

Dodging armed police

“I was amazed that someone can brazenly walk into my locked office with a key and remove two laptops, when armed policemen are patrolling the entrance,” Baldwin said.

“This isn’t the first time that a break-in has occurred in this building and the police and Commons staff urgently need to look into this and find the culprit.

“I hope that the criminal is quickly caught and prosecuted to prevent any further thefts.”

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said it was investigating the situation. ““We have recently been made aware of a possible data breach which may involve the Westminster office of Harriet Baldwin MP,” a spokesperson told TechWeekEurope.

“We will be making enquiries into the circumstances of the alleged breach of the Data Protection Act (DPA) before deciding what action, if any, needs to be taken.”

Lost and stolen laptops have caused plenty of headaches for those in the public sector. Last year, it emerged the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had lost over 280 computers over an 18-month period.

In March this year, it emerged US space agency NASA had a laptop stolen, resulting in “the loss of the algorithms used to command and control the International Space Station” in 2011.

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