Tories seething over data riddle
THE Tories were today demanding to know whether senior customs and revenue officials sanctioned the decision not to make safe the lost child benefit data.
A memo released by the National Audit Office, which requested the information, said it was not ‘desensitised’ to save money, the Opposition said.
Tories claimed a senior official at HMRC was told of the decision, contradicting Chancellor Alistair Darling’s claim that a junior official was to blame.
Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond said the National Audit Office, which was due to receive the CDs sent in the post, asked for sensitive information such as bank account details to be removed.
‘It was made clear the Revenue would not be able to make it available in that form because it would involve an additional payment to an IT firm,’ he said.
He said an assistant director at HMRC was copied in on the decision.
‘Alistair Darling told the House of Commons this was a single maverick junior official operating in contravention of the rules,’ he told the BBC.
‘This seems to suggest a decision was made at a senior level not to desensitise the data simply to reduce costs.’
He demanded the Chancellor disclose whether he knew senior officials were involved in the decision before his Commons statement.
The disclosures are based on a memo by National Audit Office chief Sir John Bourn released to Public Accounts Committee chairman Edward Leigh.
HMRC is protecting the identity of the official blamed for sending the two discs containing the details of 25 million people by courier from the Child Benefit office in Washington, Tyne and Wear, to the NAO in London on October 18
But children whose personal data has gone missing could be at risk of identity fraud for many years, credit reference agency Experian has warned.
The company said fraudsters could wait until children turn 18 before trying to apply for credit in their name.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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