Spy boss poked by Facebook
We all saw yer, Sawers
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The Foreign Office has defended spy boss Sir John Sawers after his wife posted private information about the family on Facebook.
Sawers takes over as head of the Secret Intelligence Service in November. His wife's Facebook profile failed to use any privacy protection and included home addresses, family photographs and holiday snaps.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told the BBC: "It's not a State secret that he wears Speedo swimming trunks.
"For goodness sake, let's grow up." Good to see the government taking data security seriously then.
Apart from cavorting in his budgie smugglers, Britain's "C" is also seen posing in a Santa hat in New York.
Lady Shelley Sawers's, page includes messages from family such as: "Congrats on the new job, already dubbed Uncle "C" by nephews in the know."
Other family snaps reveal that Sawers' brother-in-law is an associate of holocaust denier David Irving. Less controversially, another relative pictured on holiday plays Janet Fisher in radio soap opera The Archers.
The pictures and information disappeared quickly once The Mail on Sunday asked the Foreign Office for comment. Given Facebook's rather lax approach to deleting profiles and pictures, however, we can only hope the information has been properly removed.
Facebook altered its privacy policies last week, supposedly to make them easier to access and use. It seems Lady Sawers fell victim to allowing anyone in the London group to see her profile. Such regional groups are being phased out because of security concerns. ®
COMMENTS
It's OK, national security is safe
Cos we still don't know how many sugars he takes in his tea.
Save the bother
At least would be spies and enemy agents won't need to follow him home from Vauxhall to find out where he lives.
I would like to commend el Reg for reporting the service as SIS as opposed to the mystical MI6. Hooray!
What's the problem?
"Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told the BBC: 'It's not a State secret that he wears Speedo swimming trunks. For goodness sake, let's grow up.' Good to see the government taking data security seriously then."
I agree with him. What's the problem? Exactly what "data security" are you implying that they are not taking seriously? His image? His home address? I agree it's a very bad idea to publish your address for the world to see (will people EVER learn?), but I can't imagine it's top-secret information. Is it also a "data security" lapse for people to know where the Queen lives?
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