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Darling admits 25m records lost Darling admits 25m records lost
(about 1 hour later)
Alistair Darling has blamed mistakes by junior officials at HM Revenue and Customs after details of 25 million child benefit recipients were lost. Two computer discs holding the personal details of all families in the UK with a child under 16 have gone missing.
The Chancellor said information, including bank details of 7m families, had been sent on discs to the National Audit office by unrecorded delivery. The Child Benefit data on them include name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number and, where relevant, bank details of 25m people.
The discs had never arrived at their destination, Mr Darling told MPs. Chancellor Alistair Darling said there was no evidence the data had fallen into criminal hands - but urged people to monitor their bank accounts.
He apologised for what he said was "an extremely serious failure" but insisted people were not at risk from ID fraud. The Conservatives described the incident as a "catastrophic" failure.
In an emergency statement to MPs Mr Darling apologised for what he described as an "extremely serious failure on the part of HMRC to protect sensitive personal data entrusted to it in breach of its own guidelines".
MPs gasped as Mr Darling told them: "The missing information contains details of all Child Benefit recipients: records for 25 million individuals and 7.25 million families. "
The package was not recorded or registered Alistair DarlingChancellor Point-by-point: Darling Q&A: Records lostThe package was not recorded or registered Alistair DarlingChancellor Point-by-point: Darling Q&A: Records lost
The records include parents' and children's names, addresses, dates of birth, child benefit and national insurance numbers and in some cases, bank or building society details. The chancellor blamed mistakes by junior officials at HMRC, who he said ignored security procedures.
He said the missing data was not enough to access accounts on its own but anyone who thought they had been the victim of fraud would be reimbursed by the banks. "Two password protected discs containing a full copy of HMRC's entire data in relation to the payment of child benefit was sent to the NAO, by HMRC's internal post system operated by the courier TNT.
He said a police investigation had been launched into what he described as a "deeply regrettable incident," which is the latest and most serious in a string of mistakes with data at Revenue and Customs. The package was not recorded or registered. It appears the data has failed to reach the addressee in the NAO."
'Not recorded' "The police tell me that they have no reason to believe that this data has found its way into the wrong hands. The police are not aware of any evidence that it has been used for fraudulent purposes or criminal activity."
The chairman of Revenue and Customs, Paul Gray, resigned earlier after the incident emerged. Fraud protection
Briefing MPs on the incident, Mr Darling said the information had been transferred at a junior level in breach of HMRC's procedures. The data was sent on 18 October and senior management at HMRC were told it was missing on 8 November and the chancellor on 10 November, said Mr Darling.
The alarm bells must now ring in every organisation about the risks of not protecting people's personal information properly Richard ThomasInformation commissioner How worried should you be?The alarm bells must now ring in every organisation about the risks of not protecting people's personal information properly Richard ThomasInformation commissioner How worried should you be?
"Contrary to all HMRC standing proceedures two password protected discs containing a full copy of HMRC's entire data in relation to the payment of child benefit was sent to the National Audit Office by HMRC's internal postal system operated by the courier TNT. Mr Darling said banks were adamant that they wanted as much time to prepare for his announcement as possible.
"The package was not recorded or registered." He added: "If someone is the innocent victim of fraud as a result of this incident, people can be assured they have protection under the Banking Code so they will not suffer any financial loss as a result."
"Mr Speaker, it appears that the data has failed to reach the addressee at the NAO. Mr Darling said people should monitor their accounts "for any unusual activity".
"Mr Speaker I also have to tell the house that on finding that the package had not arrived at the NAO a further copy of this data was sent - this time by registered post which did arrive at the NAO However, again HMRC should never have let this happen." He also announced that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which monitors HMRC, was likely to investigate the incident.
'Get a grip''Get a grip'
The data was sent on October 18 and senior management at HMRC were told it was missing on November 8 and the Chancellor on November 10, said Mr Darling. It is the latest and by far the most serious of a string of missing data incidents at HM Revenue and Customs.
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said the government needed to "get a grip" and deliver a basic level of competence. HMRC chairman Paul Gray resigned earlier after the latest incident came to light.
He said it was the "final blow for the ambitions of this government to create a national ID database" as "they simply can not be trusted with people's personal information". Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said: "Let us be clear about the scale of this catastrophic mistake - the names, the addresses and the dates of birth of every child in the country are sitting on two computer discs that are apparently lost in the post, and the bank account details and National Insurance numbers of ten million parents, guardians and carers have gone missing.
Lib Dem acting leader Vince Cable said it was now the Treasury and not the Home Office that was "not fit for purpose". "Half the country will be very anxious about the safety of their family and the security and the whole country will be wondering how on earth the government allowed this to happen."
He asked why the information had been sent on discs through the internal mail when it should have been sent electronically. He urged the government to "get a grip" and deliver a basic level of competence and said it was the "final blow for the ambitions of this government to create a national ID database".
"They simply can not be trusted with people's personal information," added Mr Osborne.
Liberal Democrat Acting Leader Vince Cable said it was now the Treasury and not the Home Office that was "not fit for purpose".
"Why does HMRC still use CDs for data transmission in this day and age? The ancient museum pieces it is currently using for computing must be replaced.
"After this disaster how can the public possibly have confidence in the vast centralised databases needed for the compulsory ID card scheme.
"Where does the buck stop after this catalogue of disasters?"
'Searching questions''Searching questions'
Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said: "This is an extremely serious and disturbing security breach. This is not the first time that we have been made aware of breaches at the HM Revenue and Customs - we are already investigating two other breaches. Giving his reaction, the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, said: "This is an extremely serious and disturbing security breach."
"Incidents like these illustrate that any system is only as good as its weakest link. The alarm bells must now ring in every organisation about the risks of not protecting people's personal information properly.
"As I highlighted earlier this year, it is imperative that organisations earn public trust and confidence by addressing security and other data protection safeguards with the utmost vigour."
Mr Thomas welcomed the Chancellor's announcement of an independent review of the incident by Kieran Poynter of PricewaterhouseCoopers and said he would decide on further action once he has received the report.Mr Thomas welcomed the Chancellor's announcement of an independent review of the incident by Kieran Poynter of PricewaterhouseCoopers and said he would decide on further action once he has received the report.
"Searching questions need to be answered about systems, procedures and human error inside both HMRC and NAO," said Mr Thomas."Searching questions need to be answered about systems, procedures and human error inside both HMRC and NAO," said Mr Thomas.
The prime minister's official spokeswoman said Gordon Brown has "full confidence" in Mr Darling. She added that Mr Darling has not offered to resign.The prime minister's official spokeswoman said Gordon Brown has "full confidence" in Mr Darling. She added that Mr Darling has not offered to resign.