When the Scottish Parliament moved from its temporary headquarters in Edinburgh to its new £431m Holyrood premises in 2004, no-one reported the disappearance and no-one cancelled the contract.
The thief managed to run up £46,200 worth of calls before Vodaphone alerted officials to the escalating bill – apparently caused primarily by the thief repeatedly calling premium rate competition lines. Vodaphone says it will waive about half of the cost, the Scottish taxpayer will pick up the rest of the tab.