Purnell sorry over 'missing' papers

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The Sunday Mirror reported that Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell had been working on papers from his ministerial "red box" during a journey from Macclesfield to London's Euston Station on October 4 when he lost the documents.

The missing papers - correspondence from MP Sir Gerald Kaufman relating to the case of one of his constituents - were returned three days later after they were picked up by fellow passengers.

A spokeswoman for Mr Purnell said: "It was one letter from an MP with the attached correspondence and was returned safely within three days. Obviously, James is very sorry for the mistake."

The embarrassing disclosure comes just days after senior civil servant Richard Jackson was fined £2,500 for a breach of the Official Secrets Act after he left classified papers relating to al Qaida and Iraq on a train.

Mr Purnell's spokeswoman said that the Cabinet Office had confirmed that he had not broken any rules in taking his red box on a train.