MI6 scrapped major drug operation after data loss

The data was lost in 2006 by a female agent, known only as 'T', but was only confirmed by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) on Saturday.

MI6 claims that its data handling procedures have been updated and improved since the loss.

'T' had been carrying the storage device in her handbag, which she left on a transit coach in Columbia.

The loss put dozens of agents' and informants' lives at risk, and Soca had to relocate the individuals in case the device fell into the wrong hands.