Want a free laptop? Then just hang out in Whitehall

It seems the government is too busy running our country to worry about everyday matters such as remembering to keep an eye on its laptop computers.

Another story broke this week about missing government laptops - this time a spate of thefts in Whitehall which led this week to somebody being arrested for allegedly stealing a Cabinet Office computer.

Thefts are almost unavoidable but let's not assume these are master cat burglars at work. It's more likely these laptops are picked up and tucked under an arm by opportunists. This latest story brings to mind the MI5 agent who left his laptop unguarded at a railway station while he went to buy a ticket. (Well, hello! Of course it got stolen - you work for MI5 - you're not telling us you didn't know there are criminals about.)

But added to all the other instances of laptops 'going astray' it paints a picture of gross negligence on the part of the government.

To put the problem into perspective, in just two years the government has managed to lose 400 laptops.

Liberal Democrat MP Dr Vincent Cable said: "It would be understandable if one or two laptops went missing each year but it is beyond belief that the government loses a laptop computer every other day."

We have to be a little careful what we say here (though that's not going to stop us saying it) - at a time when the issue of leaked information and secret government sources costs a man his life, you would have thought government employees would be a little more guarded about their laptop computers and the sensitive information they contain.

It's inconceivable to think that somebody can just slip a laptop into their bag and walk away with secret government information but most shocking is that it's not even a rare occurrence - it's happening so much that legitimate computer retailers around central London are probably feeling a bit of a pinch with the sheer amount of kit being gifted to the black market by hapless civil servants.

It's tempting to argue that if you can't look after a laptop computer you're possibly not the right person to look after a country.