11 June 2012
West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has today called for an inquiry after two laptops were stolen from her locked House of Commons office during the Jubilee Week. The break-in is currently being investigated by Scotland Yard forensics experts and the Serjeant-at-Arms to try and identify the thief. Each House of Commons office has a sophisticated lock system, but cleaners, postal staff and other workers have access to each office throughout the day and night. Two laptops were stolen in the break-in but all constituent data is stored on remote servers so no secure data has been lost. There have been a number of thefts from offices in the House of Commons over the last year and Harriett has called for a proper inquiry into the security checks carried out on administrative staff. She said: “I was amazed that someone can brazenly walk into my locked office with a key and remove two laptops, when armed policeman are patrolling the entrance.” “This isn’t the first time that a break-in has occurred in this building and the police and Commons staff urgently need to look into this and find the culprit.” “Fortunately, all of our private constituent data is stored on a remote server and neither of these laptops were used for constituent correspondence. “Neverthelesss, I hope that the criminal is quickly caught and prosecuted to prevent any further thefts.”