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New data loss hits HMRC

24/11/2007

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been stung by confirmation that the agency does not know where six further data discs are.

The news comes less than a week after chancellor Alistair Darling was forced to apologise when two child benefit CDs containing confidential details of 25 million people disappeared in transit to the National Audit Office (NAO).

And today it emerged that six CDs containing phone conversations with an individual tax credit claimant have been missing since being sent in the post on October 10th.

Police today continued their searches of offices belonging to TNT, one of three mail firms used by HMRC, but no trace of the two missing discs has been found.

HMRC insists that the CDs are probably still on its premises, with the government emphasising the police line there is "no evidence" the data has fallen into criminal hands.

"The copy of the data is likely to still be on government property - we have no evidence to suggest the data is in the possession of anyone else," an HMRC statement said.

According to the Conservatives the data's loss is a result of "systemic failure" at the heart of government.

Seven million families have been affected by the data loss, Mr Darling told MPs last week.