MI5 computer stolen from house

A burglar has stolen an MI5 hand-held computer containing secret information about fighting terrorism.

It was taken from a property in Greater Manchester on Sunday night after a burglar climbed through an open window.

The house was being rented by the intelligence service but the information on the device was encrypted, so a security breach using the information is thought unlikely.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police asked for anyone offered the stolen property to hand it in to the nearest police station.

The security services and the Government have been hit by a number of security breaches in the last year.

On Monday, it was reported that a civil servant will be charged under the Official Secrets Act after sensitive documents were left on a train.

The papers were taken out of Whitehall and left in an orange cardboard envelope on the seat of a Surrey-bound train from London Waterloo on June 10.

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