Top officer admits leaving confidential papers in car before they were stolen

A top counter terrorism officer has admitted leaving confidential documents in a car for four or five days before they were stolen.

Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, who was the counter terrorism lead for West Midlands Police, put the papers in a locked case in an unmarked police car.

The briefcase and other possessions were stolen from the vehicle in May.

Beale, 54, who has been suspended from duty, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

He pleaded guilty to the charge of failing to safeguard information under the Official Secrets Act.