21 November 2007
The government has made one of the biggest security lapses in history, by losing two computer discs containing the personal details of 25 million people.
Bank details, national insurance numbers and dates of birth were all included on the discs - which cover all 7.25 million UK families entitled to Child Benefit - lost in a postal blunder by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
The government blunder, which opens the door to potentially massive fraud in current accounts, has already caused Paul Gray, the head of HMRC, to resign with immediate effect.
Chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling announced the security breach in parliament yesterday, terming it an "extremely serious failure".
Mr Darling confirmed that the discs had been lost when they were sent through HMRC's internal post system - and that the package containing them was neither recorded or registered.
Shadow chancellor George Osbourne fiercely criticised the government yesterday for what he termed a "catastrophic" mistake.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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