BUNGLING civil servants lost nearly 50 mobile phones and laptops a week despite thousands still working from home.
The numbers of missing computers doubled last year as mandarins were still allowed to stay away from the office.
Civil servants lost nearly 50 mobile phones and laptops a week despite thousands still working from home
In 2021, 559 computers went missing, when most were still working remotely.
And that rose to 912 in 2022 as they slowly crept back in.
The Ministry of Justice was the worst offender – with staff losing 306 machines – despite just over half of staff coming back to the office (57 per cent).
The Ministry of Defence was the second worst department as 275 computers went missing, although many more were working in the office dealing with the fallout from the Ukraine war.
At the same time, Home Office staff managed to misplace 425 mobiles, while Justice workers lost 334.
Some MPs are now calling for an inquiry into the missing kit over security concerns, after it emerged some 8,485 devices were lost in the last five years.
The Liberal Democrats are now demanding an inquiry to establish how so many electronic devices, which may contain sensitive personal details, or classified Government information, have gone missing and whether there have been any security breaches as a direct result.
Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney branded the loss of gear “frankly terrifying.”
She added: “If one of these lost or stolen phones or laptops fell into the wrong hands, it could pose a serious threat to our national and personal security.
“Seeing an almost two-fold increase in the number of missing laptops in just a single year is especially worrying.
“Ministers need to launch an official inquiry without any delay, the public must be reassured that steps will be taken to protect confidential data and reverse this huge rise in lost laptops and mobile phones.”
The government said there was no security threat as each device was encrypted.
A spokesperson said: “We take the security of government devices extremely seriously, which is why devices such as laptops and mobile phones are always encrypted, so any loss does not compromise security.”
