Secret papers on Iraq war stolen from Eversheds lawyer on train

Highly sensitive documents relating to the Iraq War have been stolen after being left unguarded on a train by a lawyer working for the Government, The Times has learnt.

The lawyer, who was working for the Treasury Solicitor's Department, which provides legal services to central government offices, lost a suitcase containing Ministry of Defence papers on Monday morning while travelling on the Leeds to London train.

It is understood that the solicitor from Eversheds, a leading British law firm, could not fit the case into the overhead storage space and had instead stowed it in a baggage rack at the end of the carriage.

The lawyer noticed that the case was missing after the train's arrival at King's Cross station and called police. It is not yet known whether it was a targeted theft or the work of an opportunist thief.

Police were last night focusing their investigations on Doncaster station, where it is thought the papers were stolen. A spokesman for British Transport Police said: “The passenger reported the suitcase as missing after they had travelled on the 9.05am train from Leeds to London King's Cross. CCTV is being viewed and the investigations are continuing.” More