Classified documents from Britain’s defence ministry containing details about a British warship and Russia’s potential reaction to its passage through the Black Sea have been found at a bus stop in southern England, the BBC reported on Sunday.

The BBC said the documents, almost 50 pages in all, were found “in a soggy heap behind a bus stop in Kent early on Tuesday morning” by a member of the public.

The defence ministry said it had been informed last week of “an incident in which sensitive defence papers were recovered by a member of the public”.

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova mocked the British government on social media channel Telegram, saying: “London has used a number of lies to cover up the latest provocation. 007 (James Bond) is no longer the same.”

“And now a riddle-like question for the British parliament, why do we need ‘Russian hackers’ if there are British bus stops?”