MI6 Office Building's Plan Lost

The headquarters of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, better known as MI6, in Vauxhall Cross, London.  CREDIT: PHILIP HOLLIS Pl...

The headquarters of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, better known as MI6, in Vauxhall Cross, London.  CREDIT: PHILIP HOLLIS

Plans of the MI6 headquarters, including the building's security measures, have been 'lost' during renovation works. The alarm was raised around two weeks ago after more than 100 documents were lost during recent refurbishment work at the headquarters of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, better known as MI6. Construction giant Balfour Beatty has been sacked from renovating the London site after the blunder. Security officials searched the site as those with access to the documents were questioned in a separate part of the headquarters.

Although some documents were later found inside the building on London’s south bank, some are still unaccounted for, according to The Sun. The plans said to show internal floor plans of the building and location of security alarms, are understood to have been held in a secure room to which only around 40 contractors had access. Senior executives from Balfour Beatty were summoned to explain the lapse in security, after which a decision was taken to terminate the multi-million-pound contract with the company.

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One source said: “All the construction workers were kept in isolation. “To lose such sensitive documents was grossly irresponsible. “They showed the layout of the building and specifically where alarms and other security measures were. The documents would be gold dust to any enemy agents or terrorists.” Although the papers did not hold a security classification such as Secret or Top Secret, they would have been considered highly sensitive due to the nature of their content. The Telegraph understands the episode to be one of careless handling, rather than anything more sinister and that no intelligence documents were involved. A spokesperson for Balfour Beatty refused to comment on the issue.