Civil servant faces trial over lost secrets

A civil servant who left top-secret documents on al Qaeda and the Iraq war on a train is facing prosecution under the Official Secrets Act, it emerged today.

The Cabinet Office official was suspended and interviewed by police after leaving the highly sensitive papers on a Surrey-bound train from Waterloo in June. Prime Minister Gordon Brown described the blunder as "very serious".

Reports today claimed that the man, who cannot be named, has been told that he is to be charged over the mistake.

One set of papers is understood to have included "damning" assessments of Iraq's security forces while the other was about "al Qaeda Vulnerabilities".

It is understood the official is facing charges under the Official Secrets Act's section 8.1, which covers the duty to safeguard information, although there is no suggestion he had any criminal intent.