The man set to take the helm of MI6 in the UK in November is doing some rapid damage control after it was discovered that his wife had posted practically every detail of their lives for all to see on Facebook.
Lady Shelley Sawers, wife of Sir John Sawers, made available copious details of their liveshaunts and habits including the location of one of their homes, favorite vacation spots, and information about friends and family- including the whereabouts of their parents and children. Her privacy controls were set so loosely that anyone in the London network could freely access her page. On the day her husband’s new position was announced, she is said to have posted scores of pictures of the family on vacation holiday.
Charmingly, friends and family congratulated Lady Sawers and her husband on the appointment, referring to Sawers as “Uncle C”- his MI6 codename. Although the Daily Mail says all traces of her Facebook fail have since been removed from the internet, the internet has a pretty long memory. And understandably, officials have commented indicating that the breach “verges on the reckless.”
Edward Davy, the Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesman is quoted in the Daily Mail as saying:
‘The Prime Minister should immediately commission an internal inquiry as to whether this has breached the security of the incoming head of MI6 too seriously to allow him to take up the post.’
A MP is quoted in the article regarding the possible consequences of the security breach:
‘Sir John Sawers is in a very sensitive position and by revealing this sort of material his family have left him open to criticism and blackmail.
‘As a long-serving diplomat and ambassador, his whole family have been involved in his line of business for decades. I would have hoped they would have been much more sensitive to potential security compromises like this.’
Uh, perhaps… most of my friends have their profiles locked down tight because they don’t want to get blackmailed, too. They’re schoolteachers.
[Image: Daily Mail]