'Get a grip!' Major security warning as bungling MoD staff lose hundreds of phones and laptops

The Ministry of Defence has been told to "get a grip" after staff were found to have lost hundreds of phones and laptops in just two years.

Between January 2024 and March this year, 545 laptops, tablets, and phones went missing, alongside 744 phones.

No lost device has ever been recovered by the department, a Freedom of Information request revealed.

The figures, seen by Sky News, have raised fears of a security crisis amid reports of a spy camera placed in the building housing the Home Office and the Ministry of Housing.

Of the devices, 132 laptops and tablets alongside 36 phones were believed to be stolen - with the rest lost by staff.

The cost of replacing the hardware could reach as much as £1,634,944, data revealed.

The disclosure arrives at a time when the department is under pressure to deliver value for money.

Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge said the figures were a "real concern" and called on ministers to "act now" to prevent more pieces of kit going missing.

He told Sky News: "With Labour still failing to produce the defence investment plan, the public will hear these reports of lost and stolen MoD kit and wonder what on earth Starmer is doing - especially at a time of war on two fronts.

"For 1,000 items to disappear in two years is a real concern and raises questions about security in our most sensitive government department."

James MacCleary, the Liberal Democrats' defence spokesman, said the Defence Secretary needed to "get a grip".

He said: "Every pound counts when our national security is at stake and the Government's defence investment plan is still missing in action – yet the MoD is leaking money through basic incompetence.

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"Seeing taxpayer cash vanish into a black hole of lost laptops and stolen phones is a kick in the teeth – every pound spent replacing an iPad is a pound taken away from the frontline."

"We cannot strengthen our national security if we cannot even keep track of the technology being used to defend it," he added.

The security concerns within the civil service follows a major MI5 warning that China is using fake jobs to squeeze confidential information from military and intelligence officials.

Concerns have also been raised about the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which was due last autumn but is still yet to be unveiled.

The Treasury and the MoD have been engaged in disputes over the level of investment needed, with defence bosses pushing for more money to avoid cuts on next generation warships and jets to replace Britain's Typhoons.

Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride told GB News the DIP's delays were a result of a "panicked" Treasury attempting to find savings, with reports defence bosses were pushing for a budget of £18billion, but the Chancellor's office favoured a budget near £12billion.

An MoD spokesman told Sky News: "We take the security of defence assets extremely seriously and have robust policies and procedures to prevent losses and thefts.

"If any assets are reported lost or missing due to suspected criminal activity, we take the necessary steps to investigate, prosecute and recover the items."