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MI6 Facebook | 07/08/2009 10:35 am

Wife of Britain's Incoming Spy Chief Blows His Cover With Facebook Page

Talk about a lapse in judgment! Wife posts photos, family information on Facebook for all to see as hubby readies to take on top-secret job.
By The Staff at wowOwow.com
© Shutterstock

Some sharing is simply too much sharing when it comes to who sees what on the Internet. In this case, the wife of Britain’s incoming MI6 intelligence agency may have shared a little too much about her family on her Facebook page.

Sir John Sawers was in a bit of hot water after his wife Shelley posted information about the couple’s London apartment, their three kids, friends and where they go on vacation. She even posted photos of her hubby on the beach wearing swimming shorts, and photos of him at family gatherings. There were even comments from relatives joking they would soon be calling Sawers "Uncle C." "C" is what the MI6 chief is commonly called. Mrs. Sawers reportedly didn’t activate the privacy settings that would only let a select group of approved Facebook friends see the photos. Instead, up to 4 million people on Facebook’s "London" network could get a glimpse of the spymaster; there are roughly 200 million Facebook users worldwide. Sawers, currently the UK ambassador to the United Nations in New York, is set to take over as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service in November, putting him in charge of all of Britain’s spying operations abroad. The Telegraph reports that there were calls from MPs for an inquiry into the lapse and questions over how the information was not picked up during the extensive security vetting process before Sawers’ appointment.

"Normally, I would welcome greater openness in government for officials or politicians but this type of exposure verges on the reckless," Edward Davy, the Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesman, told The Mail

The Mail says there are now fears that the blunder may have compromised the safety of Sawers’s family and friends. Mrs. Sawers’s postings also exposed the couple’s friendships with senior diplomats and well-known actors, and revealed that her husband’s brother-in-law is an associate of controversial right-wing, Holocaust-denying historian David Irving. Professor Anthony Glees, director of Buckingham University Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, told The Daily Mail the Sawers family would almost certainly need to be re-housed and the children might require extra protection.

"It is a most distressing and unfortunate security lapse that will take a great deal of money to put right," he said.

47 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

SG3
Come on folks. Do these people not talk to their wives about how important security would be not just for them but their own families. Putting your picture on the Internet no matter who you are gives someone what you look like. If your smart you do not tell who you are and where you are. When will people get this is a wonderful tool but even I know to protect my family.
By SG3 on 07/08/2009 11:00 am
KellyInTexas

2 Words….S E R I O U S L Y    S T U P I D .

By KellyInTexas on 07/08/2009 5:54 pm
Cjay
so true, but it happens "here," too. Now for an MI’s spouse, she needs more to do, I fear, or at least he could have thought about "exposure" in advance, and acquired some Internet training for his family. He is t he one who should be "gone."
By Cjay on 07/08/2009 9:27 pm
RoxieHagman
that was stupidity beyond belief. Goes to show what bragging can get you. I do feel sorry for her poor husband though, poor judgment on his part in marrying her, hopefully her family won’t suffer the consequences.
By RoxieHagman on 07/08/2009 11:02 am
SG3
Roxie don’t you think hubby should have told her what she could do safely and couldn’t. He after all was the MI6 agent. Not her.
By SG3 on 07/08/2009 11:10 am
RoxieHagman
sorry S G, I can’t imagine she didn’t know what she was doing, after all she lives that life, common sense would tell her to be careful if she cared about her and her  family’s safety. Who knows, God help them all at this point.
By RoxieHagman on 07/08/2009 12:31 pm
LucindaHerbert
I am stunned that she didn’t have enough sense to know that the spouse of a high level diplomat should not have a facebook page that can be easily accessed.  The minute after he was appointed, she should have deleted the entire account!
By LucindaHerbert on 07/08/2009 10:37 pm
RachelF

Wow, that’s kind of extreme, isn’t it? Poor judgement in marrying her because she didn’t understand security settings on Facebook? Yikes!

Seriously, how do we know this woman isn’t just a "n00b", who doesn’t understand all the privacy settings and what have you? Yes, it was stupid, but, as someone who has dealt extensively with "newbie/n00b" users, I can say that it’s not at all inconceivable that this was just a product of not understanding the software. Very unfortunate, but not worthy of all the condescension and loathing that the poor woman’s been heaped in; I’m sure she feels bad enough as it is…

By RachelF on 07/08/2009 2:45 pm
LucindaHerbert
No doubt she feels bad, but the wife of a high level diplomat should be more savvy than that (and not technically savvy, but certainly far more sensitive to security matters — i.e. the inappropriateness of having a facebook page, period, when one’s spouse has been named head of intelligence)  It’s pretty shocking. 
By LucindaHerbert on 07/08/2009 10:42 pm
deberB
Major stupidity…..breathtakingly ignorant.
By deberB on 07/08/2009 11:12 am
LadyGator
deber — if there was a "dumber than dumb" contest — she might be #1.  I rather think Marion Berry might be a close 2nd (or possibly #1).  Or maybe ‘stupid is as stupid does".
By LadyGator on 07/08/2009 11:31 am
deberB
Honestly, Marion Berry, on the news daily here, is a colossal loser.  
By deberB on 07/08/2009 12:08 pm
LadyGator

deber — I always just loved this guy’s name.  "Marion Shepilou (or w) Barry Jr.  He’s getting a pretty good ‘rap sheet’. 

Convicted in 1990 - cocaine possession charge.  Indicted on 14 counts of possession and perjury.  Served six months.

2002 - Cops found his car loaded with pot and cocaine. - Back to the slammer

2005 - Plead guilty to tax fraud - during his probation tested positive for cocaine

2009 - Arrested for stalking

And IMO the funniest slogan I ever heard for a campaign (when he was running for Mayor after being convicted and served six months) —- "He may not be perfect, but he’s perfect for DC".  I still crack up whenever I remember that slogan!  And, he WON!  Go figure!

Hum, this lady would come in #3 in the "dumber than dumb" contest!   The voters of DC would get spot #2.  :)

By LadyGator on 07/08/2009 1:07 pm
deberB
The word "slime" comes to mind.
By deberB on 07/08/2009 1:20 pm
MarjorieC

Lady:   "He may not be perfect, but he’s perfect for DC". 

LOL.  That is funny.  DC…  whatta place.

By MarjorieC on 07/08/2009 1:34 pm