Argus Europe Ltd

Following the Information Commissioner’s call on 29th October for Chief Executives to take responsibility for data protection safeguards, the British Security Industry Association is emphasising that all aspects of security should be a matter of major priority for organisational heads.

BSIA Chief Executive, David Dickinson, comments: ‘Data protection safeguards are essential to any business in terms of the security of both the organisation itself and the customers that it serves. With identity fraud a spectre that continues to haunt both the public and private sectors, it is particularly important that data is disposed of securely by a professional information destruction company to ensure that any confidential waste does not fall into the wrong hands.’

The bodyguards were employed at  the British embassy in Kharto

Two British Embassy bodyguards have been expelled from Sudan, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

The Sudanese government had accused the men of running over and seriously injuring two security officers during a row over a parking space.

However, the British Embassy denies its men intentionally hurt anyone and said there were conflicting accounts of the incident at the UN’s HQ in Khartoum.

A Foreign Office spokesman said relations should be unaffected.

Sources say Sudanese guards had tried to stop the British team parking in a reserved space.

Contracts expired

Ali Yusuf, of Sudan’s foreign ministry, said two members of the British ambassador’s close protection team were told to leave the country after the incident.

However, British officials said the bodyguards had been due to leave because their contracts had expired.

A UK Foreign Office spokesman said: “We can confirm that two embassy employees have left Sudan as part of a routine rotation.

“We were given formal notice that we should consider them expelled but we agreed that this should not affect bilateral relations.”

The incident in August which was widely covered in the local newspapers caused a political storm in Khartoum.

The decision to expel the bodyguards comes at a sensitive time for relations between Britain and Sudan.

The Sudanese government wants the UK to support plans to delay the International Criminal Court case against its president Omar Al Bashir who stands accused of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity for atrocities committed in Darfur.