The theft of Tory leadership candidate David Cameron’s election plans and a laptop from an aide's car last Friday should act as a warning for users to keep laptops out of sight from potential thieves.

A thief smashed a window of Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood's car to steal a laptop bag containing documents, a mobile phone and memory sticks, but unaware of what he had in his possession, ditched the swag.

Peter Jaco, chief exec of UK-based encryption firm BeCrypt, commented: "Laptop bags are a regular target for thieves. Although it’s unclear whether the sticks were encrypted in this case, it just underlines the importance of encrypting data to prevent unauthorised third party access.

"Although it is likely that people working in Cameron’s support team will have access to sensitive information and will be following government guidelines on encrypting devices, many companies and individuals are still not protecting themselves," he added. ®