WIRE:04/01/2000 19:54:00 ET British defence ministry looks at Internet bungle

LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) - Britain's defence ministry has opened an investigation into how a detailed NATO plan for the rules of engagement in Kosovo turned up on the Internet, a British newspaper said on Sunday. The nine-page document began flashing up on screens at a London publishing company, the Sunday Telegraph said.

"It's not really what you expect to find on your computer first thing in the morning -- something telling you in fairly neutral language the circumstances under which you can kill someone in Kosovo," an employee at the publishing company told the paper.

NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said the documents were sensitive and should not be in the public domain.

A defence ministry official said the security breach had nothing to do with the British military and the ministry was looking into the issue only because the breach had occurred in Britain.

The latest security lapse comes after news last month that agents of MI5, Britain's domestic security service, and MI6, the overseas security service, had lost laptop computers containing secret information.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20000401_994.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), April 01, 2000