On Sunday, news media claimed that a group of secret documents belonging to the United Kingdom government were discovered at a bus stop in Kent, southeast of London, including highly private data concerning the British military and foreign policy. An anonymous tip to the British Broadcasting Corporation led to the discovery of the 50-page document (BBC). According to UK government, it was investigating how the documents landed there, adding that an internal investigation into the incident had been initiated.
The documents discovered at the bus stop, according to AFP, comprised 50 pages of top-secret material regarding the British Ministry of Defence, including a prospective military presence in Afghanistan after NATO operations conclude. The articles mostly focused on Russia’s reaction to a British warship passing through Ukrainian seas near the coast of Crimea.
According to the BBC, the boat in question is the HMS Defender, a British military destroyer that is cruising near to the shore of Crimea. Russia, which took Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, regarded the British destroyer’s presence in the Black Sea as a violation of its territorial seas, according to the BBC, and fired a series of warning shots in reprisal.
It is worth noting that the takeover of Crimea by Russia has yet to be recognised by the majority of the international community. The UK, on the other hand, denied any wrongdoing, saying the ship was just passing through Ukrainian territorial seas in line with international law.
The newly discovered documents appear to demonstrate that Britain was aware of the type of reaction it would elicit from Russia but proceeded on its course nonetheless, fearing that a different route would lead Moscow to believe the UK was “being scared/running away.” The files also showed that the UK government was seeking to “engage with the Ukrainian government… in what the UK recognises as Ukrainian territorial seas” by allowing the warship to travel this route.
The government said the classified documents found at the Kent bus stop were reported missing from the Ministry of Defence last week, and that an inquiry is ongoing. Brandon Lewis, Northern Ireland’s minister, was reported as stating, “It shouldn’t be allowed to happen.” “It was properly reported at the time,” he said, adding that “there’s an internal investigation into that situation.”
