Computer stolen from cabinet minister's office

A computer was stolen from the office of a cabinet minister in a break-in in the second serious security breach involving a senior government official in a week. BBC television said the computer contained 'restricted' government documents, including some on defence and extremism, but no information believed to be top secret.

"There was a break-in at the constituency office of Hazel Blears on the afternoon of Saturday, June 14. Hazel was not there at the time," a government spokesman said.

"The thief broke in through a window, triggering the building's security alarm. A PC (personal computer) was stolen. Nothing else was taken. We understand the building's security staff arrived within minutes."

Like all members of parliament, cabinet ministers maintain offices in the local constituencies that elect them to the House of Commons.

Blears is the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. An aide at her local constituency office, in the northern city of Manchester, said the computer was the only item taken in the weekend burglary.

"The window was smashed. Just the computer was taken," she told Reuters. Police in Manchester confirmed they were investigating a burglary.

The incident was the second breach in a week at a time when the opposition Conservative Party accuses the government of failing to keep data secure.

A senior intelligence official left a folder containing top secret files on al Qaeda and Iraq on a commuter train last week.