EXCLUSIVE: Vince Cable whistleblower, read where it all began

9:45am Friday 4th November 2011 in News By Christine Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Vince Cable whistleblower, read where it all began EXCLUSIVE: Vince Cable whistleblower, read where it all began

“Careless and irresponsible” is how an outraged member of the public described Twickenham MP Vince Cable’s attitude to disposing of correspondence, after finding bags of confidential and personal letters discarded in the street.

The worried whistleblower, who brought the RTT reams of evidence of the Business Secretary’s lax disposal methods, took it upon himself to bring the issue of worrying data protection practices to the fore after seeing it happen time and again since the 2010 elections.

He said: “I thought how careless, how careless to be doing that, and irresponsible too.”

The eagle-eyed passerby said transparent bags were left out in the street and he could see people’s private letters showing through the side.

He said: “I thought ‘Am I seeing correctly or not?’ and thought I better look inside. Then I realised just how extensive it was and I just monitored it to see if it stopped.

“What with all the publicity about breach of privacy by journalists, and also that some lady journalists had been there [to Dr Cable’s constituency office] and then they complained about these journalists saying they were breaching their confidence, I just thought it’s all so hypocritical for them to condemn Murdoch.

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“I just thought it was the pot calling the kettle black.”

The unnamed source, who said he had no political motivations but wished to remain anonymous, checked rules regarding data disposal via the information commissioner’s website and looked up instructions on the House of Common’s advising MPs on how to treat constituents’ correspondence.

He said: “I just thought this is extraordinary, he’s not even prepared to invest in a shredding machine for the office. How mean can you get?

“I didn’t keep records of when I took stuff [but] I thought it was of public interest.

“It wasn’t taken with the thought of selling it to thieves and robbers, I just thought it was something of public interest.

“Some of the things are very personal to do with disability and health and some mental problems, and they give the full details of names and addresses and people and in some cases phone numbers.

“It is certainly not the sort of thing people would be happy to have thrown out by the GP or area health authorities or the council or any organisation.”

Shocked by the extensive details being thrown out on the street the moral crusader decided to investigate further.

He contacted people in the area whose personal details were printed on a thrown out list of BNP members to see if the assertions were true – he said they denied the suggested political affiliation.

And he also visited Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith’s office to see what his disposal practices were like – he said he did not see any carelessly discarded bags like outside Cable’s office.

He said: “A lot of confidential documents relating to people’s private affairs are being thrown out on the street, put out without attention to the legal requirements of how you treat confidential documents.

“Outside the door it happens every Monday evening and you will find a sack of people’s confidential correspondence dumped outside.

“This is not right [you] are supposed to treat these things with full care.

“It isn’t good enough really, and I imagine there’ll be a lot of disappointment.”

For more on this story, see today's Richmond and Twickenham Times

Comments(27)

brooksider says...
10:18am Fri 4 Nov 11

Well done to the whistleblower, those in goverment and positions of power must be held to account. Thanks to his diligence we have another example of hypocrisy exposed.

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pagarus says...
11:12am Fri 4 Nov 11

Did the whistle-blower not think to point this out to Dr Cable to get it stopped then and there.

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keeshond8 says...
12:44pm Fri 4 Nov 11

If this "worried whistleblower" had really cared about constituents' interests he/she would surely have alerted Cable's office or brought the fact to the attention of the RTT much sooner than now. That and the fact no records have been kept of how many bags were taken and peered through reflects at least as badly on this individual as on the MP.

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twickerati says...
1:01pm Fri 4 Nov 11

Another fine mess. You'd think that after "giggle-gate" last December that Cable's office would have been on their guard against his kind of thing. And of course they should have proper procedures in place anyway. It's unlikely that Cable himself was putting the bins out, so it looks like he's been let down by his team on this one.

Re-assuring that there was no political motivation behind it... although it's great to know that St. Zac is disposing of his documentation responsibly. LOL.

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twickeman says...
12:52am Sat 5 Nov 11

Can I have my £2 back please?

Its a shame that Dr Cable's too busy apologising for his ongoing gaffes that he hasn't got time to comment on important local issues such as the Crane poisoning or Solum's proposed scarring of Twickenham.

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BrokenBriton says...
9:58am Sat 5 Nov 11

Why does the whistle-blower want to remain anonymous? That and the fact that about 50% of his quotes are him trying to get his defence in first seem to suggest he realises this wasn't exactly altruistic. I hope the admissions of repeated theft and subsequent handling of stolen goods are investigated thoroughly.

Claiming the moral high ground are you? Pull the other one.

Twickeman - welcome to having a senior government minister as your MP. The world doesn't suddenly grant them another 8 hours a day to do the extra work.

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Edwina of Twickenham says...
11:49am Sat 5 Nov 11

Isn't this whistleblower rather sick? They've been going through Vince Cable's waste bags for months and months reading stuff that doesn't concern them? If this person was so concerned, why didn't they report what was happening at once? Will the Richmond and Twickenham Times please tell us how much they paid this so called "moral crusader"? And incidentally how much did the paper get from the Sun from selling the story on? I don't think anyone comes out of this story with much credit.

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jeremyhm says...
12:20pm Sat 5 Nov 11

A thought for Broken Briton. A Cabinet Minister gets a huge amount of support from civil servants, a ministerial car etc that a back bencher does not have.
I find it rather bizarre that it appears that whistleblower is getting the flack, rather than the man on whose desk the buck stops.

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Edwina of Twickenham says...
1:38pm Sat 5 Nov 11

I don't excuse Vince Cable, but I do think there is a lot more to the story than just condemning him. It's quite simple, if this "whistleblower" really cared about the public interest, they should have reported what was going on at once rather than wait for months and months. The suspicion has to be they were gathering as much paperwork as possible to up the price when the story was eventually sold? I ask again, how much was this person paid for the story - and indeed how long did the Rick & Twick know about before they went to press?

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spragger says...
2:24pm Sat 5 Nov 11

Now, who could this whistle blower be . .?
Lets think but not too hard .. .

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spragger says...
2:25pm Sat 5 Nov 11

Now, who could this whistle blower be . .?
Lets think but not too hard .. .

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spragger says...
2:25pm Sat 5 Nov 11

Now, who could this whistle blower be . .?
Lets think but not too hard .. .

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alex twickenham says...
2:38pm Sat 5 Nov 11

I'm surprised that the Right Honourable Vincent Cable, MP, Cabinet Member and Business Secretary to HM Government hasn't issued orders to his loyal supporters to desist from attacking the whistleblower who exposed his latest gaffe - its such a tired old tactic, especially repeated three times.
There seems to be a lot wrong with his business and management skills - doesn't there?
1. He was naively stupid to be caught out by two young women reporters who played to his power vanity over the Murdoch affair. 2. He can't even seem to manage VAT on his private income and incurred a fine from HMRC - how businesslike is that? 3. He had to be begged for a cheque by his PA to avoid having his constituency office phone cut off. 4. He has allowed his office staff to continue to dump confidential papers outside his constituency office in full public view despite police presence and barriers outside his office in the summer. Wouldn't that make you a bit cautious especially since there is a Tesco Express popular with students directly opposite?
4 examples of poor management and business skills - it really does beggar belief. Is he the right man for either job?
Alex.
PS: Given this track record I guess we should be glad that he doesn't get involved in local issues as jeremyHM points out
PPS: I suggest he ditches the Fedora and black overcoat.

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Twickenham resident says...
7:40pm Sat 5 Nov 11

All those who are still keeping the faith and rushing to St Vince's defence miss the point.

The fact is, incredibly sensitive and personal information was routinely left outside CABLE'S HQ. It could have easily been scooped up with the weekly rubbish collection and its contents exposed at the depot for all to see. Not too far away, the RTT reports that ex Lib Dem councillor James Mumford dumped sensitive data when he was evicted. What is going on?

In addition, what was Cable doing with a membership list of the BNP, how did he obtain it and for what reason? I wonder what other secret dossiers on residents he has?

I think we should be told!

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alex twickenham says...
10:38pm Sat 5 Nov 11

My thanks to Twickenham Resident - I had almost forgotten that Vince's Lion Rd HQ staff were obsessed about BNP activists in Hampton a couple of years ago - apparently they thought they were removing LibDem election posts and substituting their own - shame on them! Setting the pettiness aside, what were they doing with a list of BNP members? It's well known that their membership list was leaked but should a mainstream political party which claims to be both Liberal and Democratic have a list of local members of a rival party? Shades of McCarthy? I wonder what other info they hold on us which may have been thrown out with the trash, unshredded?! Don't they have a shredder? If not, perhaps Vince should foxtrot down to Starprint and buy one from his local office supplier - they're only about £50 for a heavy duty office model. I know that he was struggling to pay his utility bills but I suspect that this stupid debacle will cost him a lot more than the cost of a shredder. Doesn't everyone, especially a "Data Controller" need one in this age of identity theft?
Alex
PS: Just to clarify things. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of the British National Party

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Montrose says...
4:39pm Sun 6 Nov 11

Well done to the whistleblower who I don’t blame for remaining anonymous because – in case anybody hasn’t noticed – local politics can turn extremely nasty.

I can only guess that he’s not a member of the Vincent Cable fan club. Alternatively, he has become disillusioned over Cable’s constituency failures like abandoning his constituents when they were concerned over Cable’s Lib Dem council cohorts’ plan to concrete over part of Twickenham Riverside. Cable’s retort was he didn’t get involved in council matters as he represented Twickenham in Parliament not on the council. Funny how those standards don’t apply when he has challenged non-Lib Dem-run councils over a variety of issues.

As for BrokenBriton’s suggestion the whistleblower committed an act of theft. Since when was removing clearly designated rubbish - left out - an act of theft?

And I agree with jeremyhm, it’s a puzzle why the whistleblower is being attacked. Anybody who’s worked with an assistant knows they – as a boss figure – get the blame if the assistant makes a mistake as it’s ultimately their fault for not checking/preventing this. Why should Vincent Cable be treated differently.

And I agree with Twickenham Resident – it’s concerning that Cable’s office had a list of BNP members – albeit discarded. What other political party membership lists do they hold which they’ve not thrown out – and for what purpose? As “Private Eye” would say – we should be told.

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jackofgreygables says...
6:11pm Mon 7 Nov 11

http://www.guardian.
co.uk/politics/2009/
oct/20/bnp-membershi
p-list-wikileaks

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Tallan says...
3:34pm Tue 8 Nov 11

I always thought whistleblowers worked for the organisation they're reporting on. This is just a member of the public reporting something to the media which s/he should have raised with the MP's staff first, in the interests of true public spirit.

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alex twickenham says...
6:03pm Tue 8 Nov 11

Yes Tallan,
The whistleblower could indeed have raised the matter with Vincent Cable's staff - had they done so I doubt they would even have got one of the Clogg/Cable chocs by way of thanks! You need to remember that a LibDem mantra is: "be wicked, act shamelessly, stir endlessly". First published in "Effective Opposition" in 2002. Since they give no quarter, why on earth should they expect it from those who dare to challenge them and get routinely rubbished? Good for the whistleblower - it proves Vincent Cable, as the data controller for his office, appears to have taken little or no interest in his duties for the last 10 months at least. Quite shocking. After all, he's not David Brent, he's the UK Business Secretary.
It was interesting to note a large lorry with secure shredding logo parked opposite his constituency office on Monday morning - the front door was guarded but I spotted loads of full white shredding sacks piled up in the front office before I was glared at by the door guardian.
My - they must have had a busy weekend!
Alex

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Montrose says...
9:18pm Tue 8 Nov 11

I agree with Alex about the potential response the whistleblower might have got. As I mentioned earlier – local politics can turn extremely nasty – and not everybody is a member of Cable’s fan club.

And Tallan – the definition of a whistleblower is much wider than your view. Here is one definition: “a person who informs on another or makes public disclosure of corruption or wrongdoing.” Here: http://dictionary.re
ference.com/browse/w
histle-blower

Moreover, I’m surprised Tallan dismisses the whistleblower as “just a member of the public” as if they should have been prevented from reporting – to a wider audience – something left out as rubbish from a constituency office of a public servant. Never forget MPs are servants of the public who represent the public, and are paid for out of the public purse.

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Edwina of Twickenham says...
7:01pm Wed 9 Nov 11

I am new to this site and am genuinely shocked by the venom of people like Alex. The anonymity of the internet seems to release people to say the most awful things. For instance Dr Cable's staff are no doubt salaried employees doing a job. I can't see what is to be gained by demonising them.

As I've said previously, I don't excuse Dr Cable but I also balance this out with wondering about the motive of the person who must have sold the stuff to the R&T. Why wait for 9 months if there was a genuine worry about the security of these documents? Did they not have any sense that they should not be reading other people's correspondence? Somehow this all feels rather sordid.

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Montrose says...
8:11pm Wed 9 Nov 11

Edwina of Twickenham you must also be new to the borough. You appear unaware that local politics isn’t conducted like the proverbial vicar’s tea party. May I suggest you read some local news stories – such as when the Lib Dems were running Richmond Council, and a row erupted over their plan to concrete over part of Twickenham Riverside for luxury housing. The then leader of the council dubbed his opponents “liars” - here:
http://www.richmonda
ndtwickenhamtimes.co
.uk/news/richmondnew
s/4700750.Council_le
ader_under_fire_over
_swearing_boy_pictur
e/

I agree it’s puzzling why the whistleblower took nine months before acting on this but I really think you are – to use your word – “demonising” – the whistleblower. After all he was only looking at documents that Cable’s office had left out as rubbish, and anybody could have read – or removed – them.

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alex twickenham says...
9:07pm Wed 9 Nov 11

Edwina of Twickenham says: "I am new to this site and am genuinely shocked by the venom of people like Alex."
Are you really Edwina? Have you actually read my posts? If so, where have I demonised Vince Cable's staff? If you take the trouble to double check you will note that I have only criticised the Right Honourable Vincent Cable for failing in his duties as a business manager who has responsibility for the security of data within his office plus his other failings. If that's venom then I'm a grass snake. I am surprised that his staff didn't think about what they were doing but then, thats usually down to poor management and I hope that he and they have been appropriately ticked off.
I'm sure that a weekend of bagging up old files for secure shredding was punishment enough!
Keep up the good work Edwina - we need more like you to keep the debate alive.
Alex

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lucullus says...
2:22pm Thu 10 Nov 11

Why not just treat him like George Osborne? After they all, they are in the same administration, did much the same thing, and with papers with similar levels of security ...

(At least I've assumed that's the case, the fact that this one's not even made it to the nationals gives us some indication of the long legs it has, doesn't it?)

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alex twickenham says...
3:23pm Thu 10 Nov 11

Sorry Lucullus,
Are you sure you have fingered the right Tory coalition cabinet member? I'm no apologist for oddball politicians of whatever party, even so, the Rt Hon Vince Cable's 4 x recent gaffe's takes some beating.
Interesting to note that his halo seems to have slipped further given this newspaper's poll result - hardly his usual overwhelming local support was it?
"Edwina Twickenham" suggested that this newspaper sold the story about Vincent's office onto the Sun - why would she say that if it didn't happen?
It was in The Standard and The Independent - sadly I don't read The Sun
Alex

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Montrose says...
9:21pm Thu 10 Nov 11

As Alex pointed out – this story made it to the nationals in what was blanket coverage. In A to Z order it was in the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, The Mirror, and The Sun. Not forgetting London’s weekday evening paper The Standard which has a larger circulation than the Guardian. The television news channels had online articles too.

It even went as far afield as Vincent Cable’s native Yorkshire – where he stood twice unsuccessfully for Parliament in his home city of York. The Yorkshire Post covered it here:
http://www.yorkshire
post.co.uk/news/at-a
-glance/main-section
/cable_sorry_after_c
onfidential_document
s_found_dumped_in_tr
ansparent_bin_bags_1
_3940067

I suggest Lucullus checks out the following:

Daily Mail:
http://www.dailymail
.co.uk/news/article-
2057472/Confidential
-documents-binned-ou
tside-Vince-Cables-c
onstituency-office.h
tml

Daily Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph
.co.uk/news/politics
/liberaldemocrats/88
70676/Vince-Cable-ap
ologises-after-confi
dential-documents-fo
und-dumped-outside-o
ffice.html

The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.
co.uk/politics/2011/
nov/04/vince-cable-a
pologises-binned-let
ters

The Independent:
http://www.independe
nt.co.uk/news/uk/pol
itics/vince-cable-ve
ry-sorry-for-binned-
pages-6257106.html

The Mirror:
http://www.mirror.co
.uk/news/politics/ne
ws/2011/11/04/vince-
cable-sorry-for-conf
idential-documents-l
eft-in-bins-outside-
office-115875-235367
65/

The Sun:
http://www.thesun.co
.uk/sol/homepage/new
s/politics/3913701/B
ins-Cable.html

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jeremyhm says...
9:23am Fri 11 Nov 11

fao Edwina: RTT did not pay for the story (see today's paper)

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