A review for all occasions

Ben Elford

Well, anyone can make a mistake.

It seems to take a particular kind of dedication and skill to commit serial blunders, and to find ways of blaming other people for them.

Matt

Didn't Bob Quick have to resign over a security blunder? And he still had the documents in his hand ...

Michael Booth

Ha ha ha ha
You couldn't make it up, could you?
So, is Burnham then in the same position as Mr Quick - did the member of the public who found the briefcase get arrested for 'Theft by Finding' ?

The Rampant Pansy

Someone should explain the protective markings to the public. If the documents were classified 'restricted', they weren't 'confidential' papers, were they? If they were 'confidential', they'd have been marked 'confidential'. It's like the crud you see in TV movies where things are stamped 'Above Top Secret' or 'Double Special Secret Confidential Personal', festooned with red seals and paper clips. OK, it's still a breach of procedures, and whoever did it is an idiot and needs a slap; but it's not up there with leaving a Top Secret codeword UK-US JIC paper about al Qaeda on the Tube. A Cabinet Office document marked 'restricted' was probably the health and safety orders for serving coffee and tea in meeting rooms.

Stepney

It's the classic Labour response to any setback.

No milk at breakfast? Order a review.

Disappointed with restricted movement due to unforeseen fig shortage? Order a review.

It's a synaptic response with these people. God help the rest of us.

Tony

I will save the Minister's department some time by completing their review here:

"Keep your bloody belongings on you."

Max Kaye

What could these 'confidential documents' be? What 'Cultural secrets' are there? I suppose it must have included a detailed account of how taxpayers' money is being frittered on a myriad 'projects' and nice little earners for the well-connected.

The passenger who found the bag was an honest person, but he/she would have served the public interest better if he/she had faxed the papers to the media.

Mike, Brighton

Compare and contrast:

Bob Quick accidently shows classified document to photographers and resigns.

Andy Burnham leaves classified documents on train and orders a review of security procedures. Presumably the said review will conclude that cabinet ministers should not leave classified documents on the train. Mr. Burnham does not resign.

a) Which is a member of the political class?
b) Which takes the public for fools?

Death or Tory

Burnham is a clown.

Cue a new directive that all Ministers are henceforth to travel EVERYWHERE by chauffeur driven Government car 'in the interests of security'...

John Goulding

And this by the same party that wants all our personal details on a database. You have to laugh or you'd cry!!!

Donna

So like most people would, the
idiot didn't stand up and check behind him ? Or perhaps they were left in the overhead?

Inconceivable incompetence. Must
be something to do with the male brain. I expect there have been more of these special
documents left behind than hand bags!

But of course he's right to have a review, as it was obviously the person who put
them into his case who is at fault.

Nicholas

"Mr Burnham apologised for the blunder and ordered a review of security procedures in his department."

Laughably so New Labour. The security procedures in Mr Burnham's department are perhaps better than his own - he should be ordering a review of his own procedures! Do we really have to put up with these idiots for another year?

The Bellman

@Mike, Brighton: The lesson of Bob Quick's involvement in policing London is that he is every much a member of the political class as Mr Burnham. Were this otherwise, he'd have resigned over the Damian Green affair.

But a bit of perspective is needed, and there's a significant difference, alluded to by The Rampant Pansy, between 'restricted' - which might be the most mundane of documents - and a description of a current counter-terrorist operation. The UK is notorious for over-classification, and, although the procedures should still be applied, this is unlikely to be a major breach of security. In my experience, the contents of many documents marked 'restricted' are already available on open source means.

logdon

He leaves a case and orders a revue? Into what? Himself? A bit like Gordo's, I accept responsibility and the man responsible has now been removed? These clowns are now reaching rock bottom.

Olaf

Bob Quick's documents were SECRET. That's a long way above RESTRICTED. Things marked as RESTRICTED are pretty mundane in general. Risk of embarrassment to an individual no risk of life or limb.

Still the rules for handling marked info are crystal clear and the minister needs to read and obey them, not review them.

Chuck Unsworth

"Mr Burnham apologised for the blunder and ordered a review of security procedures in his department"

I'm confused. Was it someone in his department who left these documents on the train - or was it Burnham? If it was the latter why is he wasting everyone's time with an investigation into something entirely different from his own stupidity?

The Laughing Cavalier

If the train had been cleaned properly they woud have been discovered before the train set off for Glasgow and (one hopes) handed in earlier.

Fergus Pickering

It's true, isn't it? Restricted is one of the lowest grades of document. In other words it doesn't matter at all. A pity, but there it is.

Bluebottle

I have the results of the review here:

1 Arrange for the guard to remind all passengers over the Tannoy, "not to forget to take all your personal belongings with you when you leave the train".

Oh, they do that already.

2 Don't appoint stupid twats to the cabinet

Oh, that's a qualification for the job.

3 Cover up 1 and 2 above

Sorted.

Moraymint

OK, Labour Government. I give up. Your incompetence knows no bounds. Your willingness to take me for a complete idiot is beyond parody. I have lost my ability to figure out just how bad it can get being governed by the biggest bunch of prannets since Pontius was a pilot.

John Levett

Have some sympathy for the man: he's got a lot on his mind. How to spend all his expenses, where to take his extensive summer holiday, which well-paid sinecure to take next year..

john miller

I suspect the review will cost £1,000,000. If it's a cheap review everybody will think it's not worth it.

So let me save us all £999,990 Yes, I am that cheap).

The new security procedure should be as follows:

Every minister is accompanied by a large civil servant wearing a boxing glove. When they do something wrong the civil servant punches them on the nose and offers some advice on how to resolve the error.

Of course, many ministers will have to incur extensive plastic surgery after their tenure in office, but I would quite happily pay for that.

Personally.

cityboozer

Death or Tory,

"Burnham is a clown"

Not quite - clowns wear rather less make-up.

Verity

Ah, the sizzle of feline humour to get the day off to a good start! Rampant Pansy, I love your name. Cityboozer, Excellent! Logdon, V funny!

Max Kaye asks "What 'cultural' secrets are there?"

John Miller, you too. What a great thread to read with one's first cup of tea.

Jock

Once again, you folks just don't get it.

The review of security arrangements in Burnham's department following his own irresponsible behaviour is not silly - it's important. It may well find, for example,that anybody in the department who leaves confidential papers lying around will be sacked immediately, unless it is Burnham in which case it's ok.

This addresses the risk that, on the one hand, people in the department will think it's ok to follow the example set by the minister or, on the other, that the minister should be expected to follow the rules. Get it ?