Just what is it with the Department for Transport and phones? Back in November, Louise Haigh was forced to quit as Secretary of State after allegations about missing mobiles came to light. Then, last week, the Rail Minister Peter Hendy was revealed to have texted while, er, driving a Routemaster bus at rush hour. And today, Steerpike can reveal that the ministry’s mobile phone woes are not just confined to those at an elected level…
For it seems that DfT officials have been following Louise Haigh’s lead in misplacing their electronic paraphernalia. A response to a parliamentary question by Tory peer Lord Leigh has revealed that more than 80 mobile phones issued by the Department for Transport have been reported as either misplaced or stolen since Labour took power in July – including three lost from ministerial private offices. Looks like the Home Secretary’s attempts to tackle phone theft have fallen rather flat…
Since Starmer’s army swept to victory last summer, the new government’s DfT has logged 76 mobiles as missing while eight have been reported stolen – a rate of more than two a week.
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