Ebay Camera Contains 'secret' Mi6 Terrorist Images

Police are investigating the sale of a digital camera containing MI6 images of terror suspects on eBay, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

A 28-year-old man from Hertfordshire bought the Nixon Cool Pix camera for £17 on the online auction website before going on holiday to the US.

When the new owner, a delivery driver from Hemel Hempstead, went to download his holiday pictures he found photos of terror suspects, along with their names, fingerprints and images of launchers and missiles.

Hertfordshire police said today that the sale was being investigated. "We can confirm we seized a camera after a member of the public reported it," a statement said. "Intelligence officers are investigating."

According to reports in the Sun this morning, a document marked "top secret" which gave details of the encrypted computer system used by MI6's agents was also found among the images.

When the owner informed the local police about what he had found, Special Branch officers came to his home to take the camera. According to reports, the officers made five visits to his home to interview him about what he had found.

Some of the material found on the camera was said to relate to Abdul al-Hadi al-Iraqi, 46, an al-Qaida officer, who was captured by the CIA in 2007.

Neil Doyle, author of Terror Base UK, said: "These are MI6 documents relating to an operation against al-Qaida insurgents in Iraq. It's jaw-dropping that they got into the public domain.

"Not only do they divulge secrets about operations, operating systems and previously unheard-of MI6 departments, but they could put lives at risk."