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Hazel Blears at centre of security breach

18/06/2008

The government has been forced to admit another security breach after a laptop was stolen from the constituency office of Salford MP Hazel Blears.

Ms Blears, who is also secretary for communities and local government, says the incident happened on Saturday when thieves smashed reinforced glass.

It is understood that the laptop contained security information pertaining to defence, extremism and the housing market. The data may not have been encrypted, although the computer is thought to be password protected.

Commenting on the theft, shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said: "The news that a government minister may have been directly responsible for the loss of data relating to extremism is extremely alarming."

It is the third time in less than a week that sensitive information has been lost by an official.

Last Wednesday, documents containing intelligence were left on a train by a senior civil servant; this was followed by the discovery of sensitive information on a Waterloo-bound train.