back to article Spy boss poked by Facebook

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 …

COMMENTS

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  1. TeeCee Gold badge
    Joke

    Oh dear!

    "....another relative pictured on holiday...."

    Associating with known tourists? That won't go down well at all......

  2. EdwardP
    Flame

    "For goodness sake, let's grow up."

    I agree entirely.

    Find some bloody news to cover El Reg, you become more and more tabloid every day.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Fail

    Ed Miliband is not Foreign Sec.

  4. Matt Bryant Silver badge
    FAIL

    The horse had long since bolted on this one.

    As soon as they took the decision to start naming the heads of the Secret Services they had blown a great big hole in the whole Secret bit. Mind you, Shelley Sawers seems in need of a good clout around the ear if only in an attempt to knock some sense into her, and Sir John would seem to be a bit short of the required nouse to let his wife run a Faecalbook page in the first place. Oh, what's that? He's a career diplomat with next to zero espionage experience, parachuted in as a NuLabour-friendly face to keep MI6 in line? Well, that would explain it all then.

  5. smudge
    Paris Hilton

    The enemy within!

    Lady S needs some security and privacy lessons, fast!

    If I was Sir J, I'd be seriously concerned that my wife would blab something over the next few years that would put someone, somewhere - perhaps himself - in serious danger.

    If I was the powers that be, I'd be seriously concerned that being married to a liability like that could make Sir J unsuitable for the job. (And this is assuming that he didn't know about it, which is what the reports seem to imply...)

    I'm not saying that Sir J will tell his wife all the details of his work. But it just needs a few things to slip out, without them even realising it - careless talk costs lives, as they used to say.

    Paris, because she would never let details of her private life... no, wait, let me get back to you on that one.

  6. The Vociferous Time Waster
    Pint

    total non story

    funny - yes

    scandal - no

    security risk - no

    worthy of el reg - maybe on a friday

    He's a political appointee rather than a spy so he's pretty much public domain anyway. There's no information there that is of use to Al Quaeda or any other fictional group of extremists.

    Funny as hell though and kudos to el reg for using the phrase 'budgie smugglers'.

  7. Jim 46
    Flame

    Women, know your limits...

    Wifey has obviously taken leave of her senses and needs to be shown the "Women, know your limits" MI6 training video again:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjxY9rZwNGU

  8. darkmooink
    Terminator

    if its such a secret

    why has he even been named? if the position needs such good secriety round it then why have they told the world who he is?

    i think he is only a face for the press/public.

  9. Dan 10
    WTF?

    Oh please

    Ok, so we all probably get that his wife isn't tech-literate etc, and maybe didn't understand the intertubes and all that, but come on, she can't REALLY have thought that posting the home address of the new head of the security service on the internet was wise?! I mean, she must have spent the last 30 years being 'discreet' about hubby's line of work?!

    What's that you say, she hasn't?! Oh.

  10. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge
    WTF?

    ICQ C ...... for Grown Ups into Scarlett Pimpernels and Stray Wraiths

    Err, For goodness sake........ Do you think that the "outing" is an Epic Fail or a extremely successful Red Herring?

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Consistency

    As long as they don't fire any other employees for doing the same thing... if they've done this already perhaps they should sue for compensation.

  12. donc
    Alert

    data security & personal security

    Compared to the data the government normally loses this is pretty minor (hence Miliband's comment, he may as well have said "is that all? Look at our past record...").

    The family snaps from their holidays may not be state secrets but I wouldn't expect the head of MI6 would normally publish his home address in the yellow pages. Guess it depends on wether we really are under siege from terrorists (like the government say we are)?? Given the government's attititude, there is no risk of the head of MI6 being gunned down outside his house, kidnapped, etc by terrorists...

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Security concern?

    So, if the new chief spook's address being published is so not an issue as to be laughable, why all those black spaces in the official MP's expenses publication, again?

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh come on...

    if they've published his name and all sorts how supid do you have to be to believe he is _actually_ the `chief spook` whatever that means....ffs....

    *jams tongue into lower lip*

  15. Chris C

    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?

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    It's OK, national security is safe

    Cos we still don't know how many sugars he takes in his tea.

  17. Annihilator

    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!

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