Greensill lobbying scandal: More than 100 government phones wiped after users entered wrong PINs
More than 100 government-issued mobile phones had all their data wiped last year after their users entered the wrong PIN.
The Treasury’s IT desk managed to reset 117 of its approximately 2,100 mobile phones in 2020 – including the device belonging to the department’s boss – a response to a Freedom of Information request from the PA news agency revealed.
Texts sent from the phones involved are likely to have been lost.
Messages lost include those sent between the Treasury’s permanent secretary Tom Scholar and former prime minister David Cameron
They include correspondence between the Treasury’s permanent secretary Tom Scholar and former prime minister David Cameron over the Greensill lobbying scandal.
MPs have called for these messages to be released.
Mr Cameron had contacted Treasury officials to ask them to allow the company Greensill Capital, which has since collapsed, to be included in one of the government’s coronavirus loan schemes.
MPs have said publishing the texts is in the “public interest”.
But Mr Scholar has maintained that he is unable to disclose the content of his messages to Mr Cameron, due to his phone having been wiped and questions continue to be raised.
“At the beginning of June last year, (the phone) had to be reset because, under government security as applies to mobile phones, if the password is incorrectly entered more than a few times, the phone is locked, and the only way to unlock it is to reset it,” Mr Scholar told a hearing of the Treasury select committee.
Reports have suggested that Matt Hancock used a private email for government business
He added: “Resetting it means that the data on it is lost. I knew that when it happened last June, and I am certainly not the only person to whom that has happened.”
Users of government phones are required to change their passwords frequently, however the Treasury has not confirmed how often these changes are required.
The government has recently come under increased scrutiny over its transparency procedures, with the Good Law Project last week announcing that it would take legal action over ministers’ use of private email addresses and WhatsApp accounts to do government work.
In the wake of former health secretary Matt Hancock’s resignation following his breaking of COVID rules with an aide, it had been reported that he and health minister Lord Bethell had used private email accounts to conduct government business.
The Sunday Times reported that Lord Bethell used personal emails to sponsor a parliamentary pass for Mr Hancock’s lover Gina Coladangelo between April and October last year.
Labour has called for an investigation into the matter.
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The US commodities regulator says prediction markets can be vulnerable to “spectacular manipulation.”
Politics
Starmer to explore Albania migration deal as he meets Italian PM after appointing new border security chief
Italy’s migration deal with Albania will be on the agenda as the prime minister meets his counterpart in Rome on Monday, after appointing a former police chief to tackle people smuggling.
Sir Keir Starmer has signalled he is “interested” in the plan under which Tirana will accept asylum seekers on Italy‘s behalf while their claims are processed.
While he admitted it was “early days” in the rollout of the policy, he indicated he was open to pursuing a similar scheme for Britain.
Talking before the trip, the prime minister said his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni “has of course got some strong ideas and I hope to discuss those with her”.
Read more:
Eight dead after attempting to cross Channel
At least 45 people have died in Channel crossings so far this year
Asked whether he would consider pursuing an agreement similar to the one Italy has struck with Albania, Sir Keir replied: “Let’s see. It’s in early days, I’m interested in how that works, I think everybody else is.
“It’s very, very early days.”
On the visit, the prime minister will be joined by the UK’s new Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt.
Martin Hewitt in 2021. Pic: PA
Mr Hewitt has been appointed to lead the government’s new Border Security Command – a key election pledge made by Sir Keir to tackle illegal immigration to the UK, replacing the previous Tory government’s Rwanda scheme.
The pair will tour the National Coordination Centre for Migration to see how Italy responds to irregular migration.
Mr Hewitt, the former National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) chair, will lead a new international effort to destroy criminal smuggling gangs, the government says.
He stepped down as chair of the NPCC in April 2023 after a four-year term. During the pandemic, he delivered several addresses to the nation from Downing Street as the “voice of policing”.
Sir Keir said of the appointment: “No more gimmicks. This government will tackle the smuggling gangs who trade the lives of men, women and children across borders.
“Martin Hewitt’s unique expertise will lead a new era of international enforcement to dismantle these networks, protect our shores and bring order to the asylum system.”
Mr Hewitt said: “For too long, the criminal gangs who smuggle people through Europe have abused our borders in the name of profit, and they are responsible for the deaths of scores of vulnerable, innocent people.
“We will dismantle them, bring them to justice and prevent them from using exploitation and deceit to fill their pockets.”
At least 45 people have died in Channel crossings so far this year.
More than 21,000 people crossed the English Channel in small boats between January and September this year, government figures show.
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