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Farce of the Facebook spy: MI6 chief faces probe after wife exposes their life on Net
06th July 2009
MI6 faced calls for an inquiry last night after an extraordinary lapse of judgment led to the new head of MI6's personal details being plastered over Facebook.
Millions of people could have gained access to compromising photographs of Sir John Sawers and his family on the social networking website.
The information, posted by his wife Shelley, included details about where they live and work.
Sir John is due to take over as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service in November, putting him in charge of all Britain's spying operations abroad.
His wife's blunder is deeply embarrassing for MI6, who were last night facing questions over why the family had not been more closely vetted before Sir John's appointment.
Lady Sawers had put virtually no restrictions on her account, making it visible to the estimated 4million on the open-access 'London' network, and potentially 200million more worldwide.
Her Facebook page was taken down after the Mail on Sunday exposed the lapse yesterday.
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Ed Davey, one of those who has called for an inquiry, said: 'Normally, I would welcome greater openness in Government for officials or politicians - but this type of exposure verges on the reckless.
'The Prime Minister should immediately commission an internal inquiry as to whether this has breached the security of the incoming head of MI6 too seriously to allow him to take up the post.'
Senior Tory MP Patrick Mercer said that Sir John had left himself open to blackmail, while security experts warned that his family might have to be rehoused.
Lady Sawers disclosed many personal details, including the location of the London flat used by the couple and other details of their three children and of Sir John's parents.
David Miliband
'No security risk': Foreign Secretary David Miliband
Her photographs included an embarrassing picture of Sir John in his swimming trunks, posted the day after his appointment was announced.
There were also snaps of Lady Sawers's half-brother Hugo Haig-Thomas - once a researcher for the historian David Irving, who was jailed for three years in Austria in 2006 after pleading guilty to Holocaust denial - and Moir Leslie, a star of The Archers.
Professor Anthony Glees, director of Buckingham University Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, said the Sawers family would almost certainly need to be rehoused and the children might require extra protection.
'It is a most distressing and unfortunate security lapse that will take a great deal of money to put right,' he added. But Foreign Secretary David Miliband yesterday denied that national security had been compromised.
He told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: 'What are you leading the news with... The fact that there's a picture that the head of the MI6 goes swimming? Wow, that really is exciting.
'It is not a state secret that he wears Speedo swimming trunks. Let's grow up.'
Minutes after Mr Miliband expressed amazement that the Facebook blunder was leading the headlines, it was dropped from the top of the BBC's bulletins.
Tory business spokesman Ken Clarke also said he doubted Britain's enemies relied on Facebook for information.
'In the old days we used to keep the name secret, all photographs were banned and I never really believed that the Russians didn't know who the head of MI6 and MI5 was,' he told Sky News programme Sunday Live.
Article
06th July 2009
MI6 faced calls for an inquiry last night after an extraordinary lapse of judgment led to the new head of MI6's personal details being plastered over Facebook.
Millions of people could have gained access to compromising photographs of Sir John Sawers and his family on the social networking website.
The information, posted by his wife Shelley, included details about where they live and work.
Sir John is due to take over as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service in November, putting him in charge of all Britain's spying operations abroad.
His wife's blunder is deeply embarrassing for MI6, who were last night facing questions over why the family had not been more closely vetted before Sir John's appointment.
Lady Sawers had put virtually no restrictions on her account, making it visible to the estimated 4million on the open-access 'London' network, and potentially 200million more worldwide.
Her Facebook page was taken down after the Mail on Sunday exposed the lapse yesterday.
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Ed Davey, one of those who has called for an inquiry, said: 'Normally, I would welcome greater openness in Government for officials or politicians - but this type of exposure verges on the reckless.
'The Prime Minister should immediately commission an internal inquiry as to whether this has breached the security of the incoming head of MI6 too seriously to allow him to take up the post.'
Senior Tory MP Patrick Mercer said that Sir John had left himself open to blackmail, while security experts warned that his family might have to be rehoused.
Lady Sawers disclosed many personal details, including the location of the London flat used by the couple and other details of their three children and of Sir John's parents.
David Miliband
'No security risk': Foreign Secretary David Miliband
Her photographs included an embarrassing picture of Sir John in his swimming trunks, posted the day after his appointment was announced.
There were also snaps of Lady Sawers's half-brother Hugo Haig-Thomas - once a researcher for the historian David Irving, who was jailed for three years in Austria in 2006 after pleading guilty to Holocaust denial - and Moir Leslie, a star of The Archers.
Professor Anthony Glees, director of Buckingham University Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, said the Sawers family would almost certainly need to be rehoused and the children might require extra protection.
'It is a most distressing and unfortunate security lapse that will take a great deal of money to put right,' he added. But Foreign Secretary David Miliband yesterday denied that national security had been compromised.
He told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: 'What are you leading the news with... The fact that there's a picture that the head of the MI6 goes swimming? Wow, that really is exciting.
'It is not a state secret that he wears Speedo swimming trunks. Let's grow up.'
Minutes after Mr Miliband expressed amazement that the Facebook blunder was leading the headlines, it was dropped from the top of the BBC's bulletins.
Tory business spokesman Ken Clarke also said he doubted Britain's enemies relied on Facebook for information.
'In the old days we used to keep the name secret, all photographs were banned and I never really believed that the Russians didn't know who the head of MI6 and MI5 was,' he told Sky News programme Sunday Live.
Article
That really is a baffling level of stupidity.
I mean, I have to laugh at the number of nobodies out there with high security FB accounts who make it hard to track down old school friends by using an avatar instead of a photo and blocking everyone who isn't their FB friend from seeing the vague details that confirm whether on not they're the person you're thinking of. Not to mention friends who are too paranoid to play Mafia Wars because of the little disclaimer asking if you give permission to MW to use your details.
But if you're the wife of the head of MI5... you'd think you'd have a little more sense than to expose everything about your family AND make the page open to EVERYONE!!!
Just wow.
No wonder James Bond never settled down.
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