Ministry Of Justice Has Lost Almost 500 Items Of Electronic Equipment Since May 2010

The Ministry of Justice has lost almost 500 pieces of electronic equipment in the last year, it has been revealed.

Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly has admitted that between 1 May 2010 and 30 September 2011 the department run by Ken Clarke misplaced 127 computers, 71 BlackBerrys and 293 "other" items of IT equipment.

But Djanogly insisted that the lost items did not pose a security risk.

"All Ministry of Justice laptops and BlackBerrys are encrypted and protected with a complex password; and all BlackBerrys that are registered as lost or stolen are blocked remotely, making it impossible for them to be used," he said.

Djanogly was responding to a written parliamentary question from Labour MP Gareth Thomas.