Corruption: News Update

Daily Mail 11th November 2008

Premier League footballers to face FIVE drug tests a year in tough new crackdown

I can't make any promises about keeping your personal details safe, admits Brown in wake of latest data blunder

Daily Mail 2nd November 2008

Gordon Brown today admitted the Government cannot promise to keep safe the millions of pieces of sensitive personal information it has gathered on the British public.

The Prime Minister's remarks came amid an urgent inquiry into how a memory stick with user names and passwords for a key Whitehall computer system was found in a pub car park.

The Gateway website allows members of the public to access hundreds of government services including self-assessment tax returns, pension entitlements and child benefits.



There are 12m people registered on it, and it had to be temporarily suspended.

It is the latest in a string of similar blunders, including the loss of the details of 25m Child Benefit claimants, and information on tens of thousands of the country's worst criminals.


More...

* Tax website shut down as memory stick with secret personal data of 12million is found in a pub car park

Mr Brown said: 'It is important to recognise that we cannot promise that every single item of information will always be safe because mistakes are made by human beings. Mistakes are made in the transportation, if you like the communication of information.'

MPs said the Premier's admission called into doubt the wisdom of pressing ahead with plans to massively expand the amount of sensitive personal information held by the State.

Both major opposition parties said the £4.5 billion ID cards scheme should now be scrapped.

Other major projects include a £12.7bn NHS computer programme for the electronic storage and transmission of patients' records, and ContactPoint - a database containing sensitive details about every child in the country, due to be launched next year.

Plans are also being drawn up for a central database holding details of every phone call, text message, email or website visited by every person in the UK.



Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve said: 'This is yet another reason why the government should abandon their £20bn ID card project - something that will do nothing to improve our security but, as is becoming increasingly apparent, may put our security at risk.'

Phil Booth, of the NO2ID privacy campaign, said that Mr Brown - by blaming the losses on 'mistakes by human beings' - was guilty of an 'abrogation of responsibility on an enormous scale'.

Mr Booth said the real issue was the Government's policy of collecting vast amounts of personal information on members of the public, to be shared among Whitehall departments.

The Gateway memory stick was lost by subcontractor Atos Origin.

The firm said there had been a 'direct breach' of its procedures. It was found in the car park of the Orbital Pub in Cannock, Staffordshire, near to where the company firm is based.

A spokesman said the 'misplacing' of the stick was being taken 'very seriously'.

Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker said: 'An inquiry is the right way forward, but it is certainly not a substitute for the use of proper procedures in the first place.

'I would have thought the basic security step would be to ensure that memory sticks with all this information on simply don't exist. Why should we trust the Government with our details for its database or ID cards system when they simply cannot be trusted with information? These data losses are becoming almost weekly.'

It has also emerged that a public official is sacked or reprimanded almost every working day for data protection or other personal information breaches.

Parliamentary answers received from four Government departments alone reveal that at least 230 officials were disciplined or dismissed in the last year for inappropriate handling of sensitive data.

Analysis of reports of data breach notifications reveals the Government has lost the personal information of nearly 30 million people in the last year.

Tory shadow home affairs minister James Brokenshire said: 'It underlines why plans for a national ID register and a new huge central database of phone and email details by are flawed and fraught with such risk and danger.

'The Government's record on handling our information has been an utter disgrace. Much greater emphasis and importance must be given to data security procedures by public bodies.'

Mr Brown said Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell was sending out fresh instructions to ministers over how sensitive data must be handled.

He added: 'This recent case with a private company, where information about individuals has been lost, makes me even more determined that we will root out this problem about leaving things around.'

A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said the memory stick contained data for 'only a handful' of people, and all their passwords were encrypted.

She added: 'We are taking this issue extremely seriously and a full and urgent investigation is under way. Our absolute priority is the security of data. While there was a question mark over the data on the memory stick it was absolutely right to temporarily suspend the Government Gateway.

'Having looked in detail at the stick we are satisfied neither the Gateway nor members of the public have seen their security compromised and the Gateway is online again.'

Tax website shut down as memory stick with secret personal data of 12million is found in a pub car park

Daily Mail 1st November 2008

Ministers have been forced to order an emergency shutdown of a key Government computer system to protect millions of people's private details.

The action was taken after a memory stick was found in a pub car park containing confidential passcodes to the online Government Gateway system, which covers everything from tax returns to parking tickets.

An urgent investigation is now under way into how the stick, belonging to the company which runs the flagship system, came to be lost.

Security breach: The lost USB memory stick holding sensitive details

The Department for Work and Pensions insisted that the system's security has not been breached, but a computer expert told The Mail on Sunday that in the wrong hands the data on the memory stick could enable hackers to access personal details of the 12million people who have registered on the system, including their passwords.

Users trying to log on to the site yesterday were met by the message: 'The Government Gateway is temporarily offline. We apologise for any inconvenience. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.'

The Government also closed down access to self-assessment tax applications via the Revenue and Customs website.

For the past six years, the £18million Gateway system has enabled members of the public and businesses to gain access to hundreds of services from 50 Whitehall departments, including self-assessment tax returns, VAT returns, pension entitlements and child benefit.

This year alone, 1.8million people have submitted their tax returns on the system.

Members of the public registering for the service have to provide their personal details, which can include names, addresses, wages, National Insurance numbers and credit card details.

The lost memory stick was found two weeks ago outside a Brewers Fayre chain pub in Cannock, Staffordshire, but the Department of Work and Pensions, which owns the Government Gateway, was made aware of its loss only last week when the 2in device was passed to this newspaper.

An expert who examined it for The Mail on Sunday said it contained confidential passwords, security software and the technical blueprint to the system known as the 'source code'. The memory stick is now in the hands of the police.

Concerns have been raised before about the concentration of personal information on the system, but Ministers have repeatedly assured taxpayers that the system was secure.

When The Mail on Sunday told the Department of Work and Pensions that the memory stick had been left outside The Orbital pub in Cannock, a spokesman said they were taking the matter 'very seriously'.

He added: 'We have launched an immediate and urgent investigation into this. We are going to assess what needs to be done and senior people are involved. The implications are obvious.'

Yesterday, after the service had been shut down, the department added: 'We have moved immediately to make sure there is no conceivable risk to users of the Government Gateway.

'We are convinced the integrity of the Government Gateway has not been compromised and there is no risk to users.'

The department said no credit card details were contained on the USB memory stick, also known as a flash drive.

Enlarge

 

Shut down: The Government Gateway website

The breach is just the latest in a long line of scandals involving lost Government data.

This week the Information Commissioner revealed that the number of data breaches - including lost laptops and memory sticks containing sensitive personal records - had risen to 277 since the loss of 25million child benefit records was disclosed nearly a year ago.

The memory stick was lost by Daniel Harrington, 29, an IT analyst at computer management firm Atos Origin.

The multinational company, which boasts an annual turnover of £4billion, won the five-year £46.7million contract to manage the Government Gateway in 2006.

Worryingly, the same company has been selected to supply IT systems for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Yesterday, Mr Harrington was in emergency meetings all day at Atos Origin's offices in Cannock.

His mother Sylvia said: 'It was lost. He is such a lovely lad. He went into work today, I don't know whether he was dragged in, but he went in. It is just so upsetting. I keep telling him, mistakes happen.'

Computer security expert Jacques Erasmus, from internet protection firm Prevx, said that the passwords and security software saved on the memory stick would provide access into a series of databases or payment systems. But he added that the greatest concern was the source code.

Mr Erasmus, who has previously worked with Government agencies, said that the blueprint to the Government Gateway was 'invaluable' for those who would want to harvest personal details or defraud the Government.

He said: 'We have to hope that there are not more of these out there. This is potentially the most serious data loss this country has seen in recent times.

'Not only would a fraudster be able to take personal details using the tools provided on the lost memory stick, but the extent of the information contained in the source code would allow a hacker to access the Government Gateway's payment systems and even divert tax money into private bank accounts.

'It is unbelievable, incredible. In previous data loss cases it was all clear-cut. The Government could see exactly what was lost and could combat it. They could cancel cards, make the people involved aware of the threat.'

As well as the system blueprint, other files on the stick included samples of personal information. One document held the names, addresses, wages, individual tax liabilities and National Insurance numbers of a group of taxpayers.

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions insisted that the security software and passwords on the memory stick had been protected so that a stranger would not be able to access the Government Gateway easily.

She said: 'Passwords are hidden using an industry standard technique which is difficult to break. We believe the risk of someone accessing personal data in this way is extremely low.'

She added that the source code was old, that the step-by-step guide to the system provided in a text file was a 'low risk', and that other items on the memory stick provided only a 'rudimentary guide' to the system.

She also said that it would be 'impossible to intercept details of transactions' and divert money to another account.

However, Mr Erasmus said the source code was only a few months old and that the password encryption would be 'relatively easy' to crack, given the information on the device.

He said: 'I could decrypt those passwords to log in to the system and roam around the network. As we can see from the data on the USB stick, the systems contain highly sensitive personal information.

'If you can crack those encrypted passwords, and it would just be a matter of time, you could potentially access those 12million accounts and those details.

'There is even a map on the memory stick of how the whole thing works, to help an attacker.'

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said the civil rights group had conducted an audit which showed that the Government had lost 30million pieces of data in the past year.

'That's one data bungle for every two people in the country,' she said. 'Still they plough on with their Big Brother ambitions; ID cards and the scary central communications database: disasters waiting to happen at our expense.'

Lib Dem MP Norman Baker said the Government were asking for data from taxpayers that they could not protect.

'The Government cannot be trusted with all this information but they collect more and more,' he said.

'I would have thought the basic security step would be to ensure that memory sticks with all this information on simply don't exist.'

Yesterday morning, the finder of the memory stick was asked to deposit the device at his local police station. And seven pages of printouts were handed over to a civil servant seconded to collect the documents.

An Atos Origin spokesman said: 'Atos Origin can confirm that a single memory stick has been misplaced by one of its employees.

'The company takes the loss of this device very seriously and we are currently carrying out a full investigation of both the circumstances surrounding its loss and the data content of the stick.

'It is clear that the employee removed the device from company premises in direct breach of our own operating procedure.

'Atos Origin is working very closely with the Government and the police. The company takes full responsibility for this loss and will discipline the individual involved.

'It is inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage.'

Health and safety axe on 800-year-old right to collect firewood

Daily Mail 27th October 2008

The right to collect firewood has been curtailed due to health and safety reasons

For the past 12 years, retired builder Mike Kamp has exercised his age-old right to collect firewood from the forest near his home.

But the health and safety axe has finally come down on an 800-year-old tradition which dates back to the Magna Carta.

Forestry chiefs say they have been forced to overrule the charter due to the 'increasing constraints' of modern legislation.

The Magna Carta of 1215 included a Forest Charter which recognised the rights of commoners to get subsistence from common land. They were granted 'estovers' - dead wood - for fuel, to repair their homes, fix tools or make charcoal.

Mr Kamp, 59, uses a wood-burning stove at his cottage near Betwys-y-Coed, North Wales, and enjoys walking through nearby Gwydir Forest. But now he has been told by Forestry Commission Wales that he can no longer buy a licence to forage.

Mr Kamp said: 'They are claiming there are health and safety issues. But people have walked through the woods collecting firewood for hundreds and hundreds of years without too many safety problems.'

Soaring fuel prices have led to more and more people combing woodland and forests for firewood. But the Forestry Commission is suggesting they buy the same wood from local merchants - who will still be allowed into the forests.

Mr Kamp said: 'That would be very carbon-intensive. The contractors would need vehicles to go into the forests to get the wood and to move it to the users. That defeats the whole object of the exercise.'

Peter Garson, head of estate management at the Forestry Commission Wales, said: 'We understand Mr Kamp's disappointment, but this is an area where we are subject to increasing constraints in terms of health and safety.

'We have a duty of care to the public in our wood.'

The ban currently applies only to Wales, but is likely to be extended to Forestry Commission woods across Britain.

Rise in violent crime due to police undercounting, Home Office says

Guardian 23rd October 2008

The government today blamed inaccurate police record keeping for a 22% rise in the number of the most serious violent crimes in England and Wales.

The claim is likely to provoke a row over the true picture of violent crime and the robustness of the statistics.

Police forces recorded 5,500 serious violent crimes between April and June this year, compared with 4,512 over the same period last year.

The crimes include murder, manslaughter, infanticide, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent.

The biggest increase was in the number of cases of GBH with intent, which rose from 4,038 to 5,073 - an increase of 26% .

Today, the Home Office today released a statement saying the steep rise was partly due to a minority of police forces wrongly recording GBH with intent in categories of other violent crime.

The home secretary, Jacqui Smith, said the rise was due to new guidance on the classification and recording of the most serious violent offences being issued.

"This change means that this quarter's figures are not comparable with last year's," she said.

"However, for most types of violence where the guidance hasn't changed, like homicide, robbery and death by driving, the numbers are down since last year.

"The overall number of violent crimes is down too - by 7% - almost 18,000 fewer violent crimes."

Smith blamed the sharp rise in the number of GBH with intent cases on confusion over what the offence covered.

She said some police forces had not classified it as a serious violent crime if someone was attacked with a broken bottle but not seriously injured.

Officials said 13 forces were asked to re-examine their figures after they discovered that some serious assaults were being recorded in a lower category of offence.

The Home Office estimated that "at least two thirds of the 26% increase in GBH with intent … can be accounted for" by the offence being wrongly recorded before new guidance clarifying what it covered was issued in February .

The department admitted the undercounting could have been going on for more than 10 years.

Chief Constable Keith Bristow, of Warwickshire police, said accurate recording of crime was essential to help officers respond effectively and boost public confidence.

"The impact of changes made to the way in which some crime is recorded will make uncomfortable reading," Bristow, the Association of Chief Police Officers' spokesman on violence and public protection, said.

"Apparent increases in some categories of violent crime are strongly influenced by these counting amendments which were introduced by the Home Office in April 2008."

The figures also showed a 10% drop in the number of murders from 202 in April to June 2007 to 182 in April to June this year.

There was an ever sharper decline in the number of deaths caused by dangerous driving, including drink driving, which fell by 30% from 116 to 81.

Osborne at bay over charge he sought cash from Russian

Guardian 22st October 2008

Link to this video

George Osborne's candour and judgment were called into question last night after it was alleged he was personally involved in discussions to channel a £50,000 donation from Russia's richest oligarch to the Conservative party.

Facing a barrage of questions yesterday, the Tory shadow chancellor was made to offer a detailed account of what happened when he met the tycoon Oleg Deripaska four times in a single weekend during his summer holiday in Corfu.

Osborne, who was backed last night by his leader, David Cameron, was forced to admit he had been involved in a conversation at the villa of financier Nat Rothschild about the way a donation could be secured from Deripaska.

On a day of extreme political danger for Osborne, Rothschild, a regular fundraiser for the Conservatives, revealed he was willing to go to court to prove his claim that Osborne had not only wanted to secure a donation from the Russian, but had been party to discussions as to how this could be made legal.

Rothschild claimed Osborne had been present when the party's chief executive and fundraiser, Andrew Feldman, had suggested the money could be channelled through LDV, a British firm owned by Deripaska. It is not illegal to accept a donation from a registered UK company, but could be in breach of section 61 of the 2000 political parties law to enter into or "act in furtherance of" an arrangement which disguised an overseas donation.

In his detailed statement last night, Osborne insisted that at no point did he or Feldman "suggest ways of channelling a donation".

Rothschild, an old and close friend of Osborne, has gone public after he became enraged at the way in which the shadow chancellor had abused his hospitality. He was furious that Osborne breached confidences about his conversations with Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, while the politicians were private guests at Rothschild's luxury Corfu villa in August.

Osborne has been seen as the source of malicious newspaper stories that Mandelson had poured poison about Gordon Brown in private conversations, and also that Mandelson held potentially controversial meetings with Deripaska on his £18m yacht, moored near the villa of Rothschild, a friend and business partner of Deripaska.

On a day when some of the biggest political reputations at Westminster were at stake, it became clear that Rothschild, the son of the merchant banker, was so infuriated by Osborne's discourtesy that he was prepared to wreck their friendship. This prompted Tory claims that Mandelson, bent on revenge, must have manipulated Rothschild into causing Osborne such a political embarrassment. At lunchtime yesterday, Osborne issued a limited denial of Rothschild's claims by saying he had not solicited money from Deripaska, and no money had been taken. "We did not ask for any money, we did not receive any," he said.

Sources close to Rothschild immediately insisted this limited denial obscured the fact Osborne and Feldman had enthusiastically discussed the possibility of securing the donation from Deripaska. Rothschild accepts there was no direct conversation with the Russian, but says the Conservatives had discussed the issue with him.

By mid-afternoon, Osborne issued a fuller statement admitting he had met Deripaska four times in one weekend in Corfu, and that in the presence of Rothschild, Feldman and two other witnesses had indeed discussed a donation from Deripaska. But he portrayed Rothschild as the initiator of the discussion.

Osborne said that in the discussion on the terrace of the villa: "Rothschild suggested to Feldman that his friend Mr Deripaska could be interested in making a donation." Osborne in his account said: "Feldman at this point made clear there are very strict rules on donations to political parties in the UK. Feldman explained a political donation is only lawful if you appear as an individual on the UK electoral roll, or if the donation comes from a legitimate UK trading company."

At this point, according to Osborne's account, "Rothschild said that Mr Deripaska owned UK trading companies including Leyland Daf", a Midlands-based vehicle firm. He insisted "there was no discussion about how a donation could be concealed or channelled".

If a donation had come from the Leyland Daf board, ordered by Deripaska, it would have been highly arguable whether it was lawful since the company might have been acting as an agent for a foreign donor.

After the discussion at the villa, Rothschild arranged for Osborne and Feldman to go aboard Deripaska's yacht in his company, but Osborne insists no discussion of a donation occurred at this one-hour meeting, even though Feldman, the party's chief fundraiser and an old school friend of Cameron, was present.

Allies of Rothschild appeared last night to corroborate this account. Osborne insists he had no further conversations on a donation, but he says Rothschild suggested in a phone call on September 18 with Feldman that Leyland Daf was interested in making a donation.

According to the Tory account, Feldman at this point considered whether such a donation would be appropriate and after discussion with party officials decided it would not be, so ending the possibilty.

Allies of Deripaska weighed in against Osborne's implication that he initiated talks, saying the billionaire "has never donated to any political party in Britain and he has no intention of doing so".

Last night Rothschild further challenged details of Osborne's version of events, saying he had discussed the possibility of a donation from the oligarch via Daf with Osborne before they met Deripaska. In further conflict with Osborne's story, he said the issue of a donation was again raised in talk on Deripaska's yacht.

After the meeting on the yacht, Rothschild claims the subject was raised again over dinner and "Osborne was interested in whether and how such a donation could be secured". He also claims the Tories were still interested when he raised the issue with Feldman in September. Rothschild said: "I was left with the impression the Conservative party remained interested." He added that another guest at his villa, James Goodwin, a consultant, was willing to corroborate his account.

Friends of Rothschild last night defended his behaviour, and his decision to stand by Mandelson, a friend for 10 years, rather than Osborne, his older friend and closer political ally.

One said: "There is a long history in British politics in which people from other political parties meet and discuss the state of their parties and remain discreet about it. He [Rothschild] is doubly angry in that his mother had been funding Osborne's office for years."

Cameron fully backed Osborne, who may yet face questioning for failing to declare he and his family had stayed at Rothschild's villa. He said: "At no point did he ask for any money and the Conservative party didn't receive any money. That is the absolutely vital point."

College lecturer caught naked in bed with girl, 15, walks free from court

Daily Mail 15th October 2008

Community order: College lecturer Ian Carter was in bed with a girl of 15 when her father walked in on them

A college lecturer who was caught naked in bed with a schoolgirl walked free from court yesterday after admitting to an 'error of judgment'.

Ian Carter, 39, was in bed with the underage girl when her father walked in on them.

A court heard that although they were seen embracing, Carter immediately denied there was anything going on between them  -  even though he had no clothes on.

Text messages which he had sent to the 15-year-old were also read to magistrates who described them as 'unsavoury'.

Carter denied sexually touching a girl under the legal age of consent, but was found guilty by magistrates at Caerphilly, South Wales.

Carter, of Tredegar, Gwent, was sentenced to a two-year community order and ordered to register as a sex offender for five years.

Chairman of the bench Francis Cann told him: 'You are a lucky man  -  we are giving you a lenient sentence in the circumstances.'

Alan Bolter, defending, said: 'He made an error of judgment during an incident which took place a week before the girl turned 16.

'He will have a constant reminder of that  -  he has now lost his college teaching position.'

After the case the girl's mother said she was 'disappointed' with the decision.

'We wanted him sent to jail,' she said.

Carter, who has a child from another relationship, lectured at a further education college and since 2002 had run a quad-biking adventure business called MudMassacre.

His offices were on a business park in Tredegar, close to where the girl's father ran a business.

Carter, 39, was given a two-year community order at the Caerphilly Magistrates Court, above. Chairman of the bench Francis Cann called him a 'lucky man'

The affair developed when the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, began making regular visits to Carter's offices.

It is understood she was not a pupil at the college where Carter worked.

In February this year the pair were caught getting out of bed by the girl's father.

Carter's business has folded and he has lost his college teaching position, the court was told.

He is understood to have worked in the college's art department.

Last night a neighbour described Carter as a popular figure who acted younger than his age.

He said: 'He is into biking, music and plays in a local rock band  -  they call it Carter's band.

'I never thought he was in his late 30s. He doesn't look it or act it.

'He's always messing round with his hair. One minute he looks like Rod Stewart  -  the next he looks like a punk rocker. He is a popular figure with local youngsters.'

Last night the girl's parents chose not to comment further on the case.

Earlier this week a judge caused outrage when he said a woman who had sex with a 14-year-old boy had been 'seduced' by him, and spared her jail.

Sharon Edwards, 40, bombarded the boy with as many as 50 text messages and emails a day, offered to buy him cocaine and regularly lured him into her bed.

But Judge Peter Fox QC said the married housewife was 'an unhappy lady' who was unable to resist the advances of a child.

The boy's mother said: 'If this had been a man he would almost certainly have been jailed but instead she gets to walk free and pick up her life.'

Edwards, a mother of two, admitted having sex with the boy on four occasions between September last year and January and was given a 12-month jail term, suspended for two years.

She also pleaded guilty to offering to supply the teenager with a Class A drug.

 

Secret documents prove No 10 ‘cover-up’ over F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone's £1m gift to Labour

Daily Mail 12th October 2008

Devastating secret documents suggest Tony Blair did not tell the truth over Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone’s £1million donation to Labour in 1997.

Government papers released yesterday under the Freedom of Information Act appear to show Downing Street deliberately tried to conceal the way that Mr Blair gave orders for Formula One to be exempt from a tobacco advertising ban just 24 hours after meeting Mr Ecclestone at No 10.

When the controversy erupted ten years ago, Mr Blair said his decision had nothing to do with the meeting with Mr Ecclestone and leaders of Formula One’s FIA governing body on October 16, 1997, and was taken ‘two or three weeks’ later.

Bernie Ecclestone with his wife Slavica: New documents suggest a 'cover-up' by No 10 over the £1m donation by the F1 boss

But the documents show that he wrote to Health Minister Tessa Jowell the next day to press for a permanent exemption for Formula One from the proposed EU ban on tobacco adverts.

And Mr Blair’s chief of staff Jonathan Powell was even quicker off the mark and phoned her straight after the Ecclestone meeting to tell her the Prime Minister had ruled she must give in to Mr Ecclestone’s demand.

The Tories last night called for a fresh investigation into Mr Blair’s conduct and said he should be hauled before the Commons to explain himself.

Conservative MP Patrick Mercer said: ‘It now appears Mr Blair was less than honest with the public about this matter. Therefore I believe he must be made to account for himself in front of Parliament.’

The papers suggest that Mr Blair tried to avoid telling the truth to Parliament when he told MPs his decision to exempt Formula One was made on October 29, nearly a fortnight after being asked to do so by Mr Ecclestone.

Exemptions: Tony Blair wrote to Tessa Jowell after meeting Ecclestone

Most revealing of all, a background note written by a civil servant, released for the first time yesterday, indicates that officials were worried that Mr Blair’s proposed written statement to the Commons was deliberately misleading – and could return to haunt them if his letter to Miss Jowell ever becomes public.

It says: ‘The draft reply is strictly true with the Prime Minister’s references to the decision having been taken two or three weeks after [the civil servant’s emphasis] the meeting with the FIA on 16 October.

'However, if the correspondence were in the public domain, critics might argue that the Prime Minister’s views had been clearly conveyed by the telephone call on 16 October and the letter on 17 October.’

It goes on to point out that, technically, Mr Blair could argue that ‘options continued to be discussed’ until October 29 – while making it clear that this is not the whole story.

The background note says ‘following the Prime Minister’s meeting with the FIA on 16 October Jonathan Powell rang (Miss Jowell) that afternoon. This was followed on 17 October by a letter following up the conversation and stating “the Prime Minister would like your Ministers to look for a way of finding a permanent derogation for sport, in particular F1”.’

The implication is that Mr Blair was warned he was not telling the truth about the affair – but ignored the warning.

Mr Blair’s spokesman last night denied  the revelations cast doubt over the former PM’s honesty.

He said: ‘There’s nothing new here. All these issues were debated at the time.’

The row blew up shortly after Labour was elected in 1997 with a manifesto pledge to ban tobacco advertising and sponsorship.   

Three weeks after the Ecclestone meeting, Miss Jowell, who previously argued strongly for the ban, went to Brussels to fight for a Formula One exemption. 

Downing Street later admitted Labour had accepted £1million from Mr Ecclestone.

MoD lose personal details of 100,000 members of armed forces in latest data fiasco

Daily Mail 10th October 2008

At risk: Private contractor EDS lost a hard disc containing names and details

Personal details of up to1.6million armed forces personnel have been lost in one of the worst data fiascos to hit the government.

The sensitive files were contained on a disk hard-drive which was lost by EDS, a private contractor used by the Ministry of Defence.

The same American firm was heavily criticised over this summer’s Sats crisis - leaving hundreds of thousands of pupils in limbo as they waited for their late exam results.

In this latest blunder, names and private details of around 100,000 serving personnel — half the regular armed forces - are believed to have been on the lost drive which was not encrypted.

It may also contain some of their bank details.

Just last month EDS was under fire for losing the details of an estimated 5,000 prison officers and admin staff, also contained on a computer hard drive.

The lost files are also reported to contain next-of-kin details, the names and addresses of 600,000 potential recruits to the army and the names of their referees.

Passport numbers, addresses dates of birth, and driving licence details for family doctors and dentists were said to be on the drive, leaving thousands of people open to identity fraud.

The latest bungle is the worst security breach for the Ministry of Defence, and the second worst for the government since last year’s fiasco when the Inland Revenue lost the details of 25 million people.

The hard drive was discovered missing on Wednesday from the firm’s headquarters in Hook, Hampshire, where it was used to test the MoD’s computer equipment.

EDS’s contracts with the MoD are now believed to be under review.

An MoD spokeswoman last night confirmed the loss. She said: ‘On Wednesday 8th October we were informed by our contractor EDS that they were unable to account for a portable hard drive used in connection with the administration of Armed Forces personnel data.

‘This came to light during a priority audit EDS are conducting to comply with the Cabinet Office data handling review. 

'The MoD Police are investigating this matter with EDS.’

Blunkett set to return to Cabinet as Mandy wrecks Miliband's leadership bid

Daily Mail 5th October 2008

David Blunkett may return to the Cabinet despite past clashes with Mr Brown

Gordon Brown plans to bring David Blunkett back into the Cabinet in another dramatic bid to revive Labour's political fortunes.

The Prime Minister is considering a recall for the former Home Secretary – who, like Peter Mandelson, has been forced to resign from the Cabinet twice – as part of a second ministerial shake-up in the New Year.

But last night, the Prime Minister's first reshuffle, announced on Friday, was already in danger of unravelling as:

• Friends of Foreign Secretary David Miliband hit out at Mr Mandelson, claiming he had sabotaged his attempt to succeed Mr Brown.

• Mr Brown reportedly prepared to sack International Development Minister Douglas Alexander as his Elections chief.

• And Schools Secretary Ed Balls was forced to deny having tried to block Mr Mandelson's return.

The row over Mr Brown's astonishing decision to risk his Prime Ministership by approving a Cabinet comeback by Mr Mandelson continued to divide Labour MPs yesterday.

Labour whips spent the day on the phone trying to prevent an 'anti-Mandelson' revolt at tomorrow's Commons meeting of the backbench Parliamentary Labour Party group.

But Mr Brown's allies said the Prime Minister was convinced he had made the right decision in appointing Mr Mandelson as Business Secretary, and was prepared to make further bold changes to the Government line-up.

Most significantly, they said he was considering finding a way to give a senior Government post to Mr Blunkett, despite his chequered past.

The return of old Cabinet hands such as Mr Mandelson and Margaret Beckett has already prompted one Tory official to comment: 'This isn't a government of all the talents so much as a government of the living dead.'

Mr Blunkett resigned as Home Secretary in 2004 over claims that he used his office to speed up a visa for the nanny of his lover, society hostess Kimberly Quinn.

Months after being recalled by Tony Blair following the 2005 Election, Mr Blunkett resigned as Work and Pensions Secretary when he admitted he had breached the ministerial code by not getting clearance for three posts he took on after leaving the Cabinet.

His double resignation is not all he has in common with Mr Mandelson.

Mr Blunkett is another Blairite who clashed repeatedly with Mr Brown when they sat in Mr Blair's Cabinet.

Some of Mr Brown's supporters believe Mr Blair used Mr Blunkett deliberately to undermine Mr Brown – a charge rejected by Mr Blunkett.

Eager: Just hours after his appointment, a casually attired Peter Mandelson gets to work as he walks down a London street

Mr Blunkett displayed his new-found loyalty to Mr Brown on Friday by leading the praise for the Prime Minister's decision to bring Mr Mandelson back into the Cabinet.

Asked if Mr Brown hoped to include Mr Blunkett in the next reshuffle, a Downing Street spokesman said yesterday: 'The Prime Minister has a very high regard for Mr Blunkett.'

Meanwhile, Labour insiders revealed that a bitter row was raging over Mr Mandelson's recall – and its devastating impact on David Miliband's Labour leadership ambitions.

One senior Minister said: 'Peter's return means David Miliband's hopes of getting Gordon out are dead and buried.

'If Miliband wants to challenge Gordon he has to get past Peter first, and he wouldn't dare.'

Mr Miliband's campaign to oust Mr Brown was secretly backed by Mr Blair himself, along with a host of other senior Blairite figures including former Ministers Alan Milburn and Stephen Byers, ex-Labour general secretary Margaret McDonagh and Mr Blair's Downing Street aide Baroness Sally Morgan.

Mr Milburn turned down job offers from Mr Brown, partly because he feared it would undermine any attempt to oust him.

Members of Mr Blair's circle sympathetic to Mr Miliband felt let down when Mr Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell refused to support the Foreign Secretary's high-risk challenge, claiming he did not have the skills or stature needed to be Prime Minister. Mr Mandelson was also unenthusiastic from the start.

Mr Miliband's poor speech at the Labour conference – together with a series of ungainly photo opportunities – led to a sudden collapse in support.

Egged on by Mr Campbell, another former Labour foe who is now advising him, Mr Brown seized on the chance to recruit Mr Mandelson, effectively killing off the threat of a challenge by Mr Miliband – or any of the other Blairite MPs who called for Mr Brown to resign last month.

'Campbell and Mandelson defected,' was the bitter verdict of one Labour figure with close links to Mr Miliband. 'They know we will be beaten badly under Brown, and now David will not have the chance of offering better leadership.'

Others say Mr Miliband is responsible for his own fate and that once his campaign flopped, and with no alternative vote-winning successors to Mr Brown, Mr Blair and his followers had no choice but to rally round Mr Brown.

'The ultra-Blairites are crushed for good,' crowed one of Mr Mandelson's allies. Mr Blair's supporters say that if, as expected, Labour loses the next Election, they will back Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell as Mr Brown's successor, not Mr Miliband.

A new poll suggests Labour could lose 164 seats in the next Election, handing a landslide victory to the Tories.

The poll for today's News of the World – which puts the Tories on 43 per cent, Labour on 34 per cent and Lib Dems on 15 per cent – would give David Cameron's Conservatives a 78-seat majority.

In a further blow to Mr Miliband's leadership ambitions, some Labour MPs say that his personable younger brother, Ed, promoted to the high-profile new role of Climate Change Minister in the reshuffle, now has a greater chance of becoming Labour leader.

The tensions between the rival Blairite and Brownite Cabinet Ministers were underlined when the origin of Mr Brown's remark that the economic crisis meant it was 'no time for a novice' to lead Britain was revealed.

The jibe, widely seen to be aimed not just at David Cameron but also David Miliband, was suggested by Schools Secretary Ed Balls.

The setback to the Foreign Secretary's leadership hopes is a major boost for Mr Balls, who sees himself as a potential successor to Mr Brown. Mr Balls, a bitter enemy of Mr Mandelson, yesterday denied reports he begged the Prime Minister to reverse his decision to appoint Mr Mandelson.

The Mail on Sunday has established that Mr Balls did warn Mr Brown of the dangers of bringing back Mr Mandelson in a tense Downing Street showdown last week.

However, Mr Brown ignored his advice and Mr Balls did not learn of the appointment until after the Prime Minister had agreed it with Mr Mandelson.

Mr Brown is expected to wield the axe again soon to replace his Elections chief, International Development Minister Douglas Alexander.

Relations between Mr Brown and loyal confidant Mr Alexander never recovered from the on-off Election shambles a year ago. Mr Alexander urged the Prime Minister to call an Election, but when Mr Brown changed his mind, found himself frozen out.

'Douglas has been deeply unhappy for some time and wants out,' said a Labour source. Mr Mandelson, who made his name as an Election strategist, may add Mr Alexander's campaign job to his wide ranging portfolio.

There was further disagreement over reports that Defence Secretary Des Browne was annoyed at the way that he was replaced by former Business Secretary John Hutton.

According to one account, Mr Hutton indicated that unless he was given the MoD post, he may have decided to step down.

'The PM had little room for manoeuvre and Des was not happy with the way he was treated,' said an insider.

MI6 photos 'sold on auction site'

BBC News 30 September 2008

Police are investigating the sale of a digital camera said to contain MI6 images of terror suspects, the Foreign Office has said.

The camera was bought for £17 on auction website eBay by a 28-year-old from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, the Sun newspaper reported.

The pictures were also said to include rocket launchers and missiles.

Hertfordshire Police said intelligence officers were investigating after a camera was seized.

Holiday photos

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm a police investigation is under way."

However, she refused to comment on the report that the camera was sold by an MI6 agent.

The newspaper said the man only discovered the pictures when he downloaded his holiday photographs from the Nikon Cool Pix camera.

A friend of the man is quoted as saying: "He flew home early this month and downloaded his holiday pictures and saw some of rocket launchers and missiles.

"He knew he hadn't taken them so he asked his friends about it and they suggested going to the police."

People or Props? Now Miliband brings his family into the Labour leadership race

Daily Mail 27th September 2008

David Miliband has stepped up his campaign to become Labour leader by speaking movingly about his young children to men’s magazine GQ.

The Foreign Secretary revealed how one Monday morning his three-year-old son Isaac pleaded with him not to leave the family home in South Shields to travel to London.

‘Daddy stay! Daddy stay!’ Isaac implored him, when he saw his father getting ready to go. ‘Give Daddy a kiss goodbye,’ said Mr Miliband, but the little boy replied: ‘No. Daddy stay, Daddy stay.’

The Foreign Secretary, 43, told GQ that he had to tear himself away to leave.

Props? David Miliband with wife Louise

But the tactic of giving such interviews flies in the face of Gordon Brown’s scathing attack last week on politicians who use their family to advance their career.

In a withering jibe aimed at Tory leader David Cameron, who is regularly photographed with his three young children, Mr Brown told the Labour conference that politicians who let their children be photographed for newspapers were treating them as props, not people.

Mr Cameron rejected the jibe yesterday, saying that, as he was asking the public to do a ‘massive thing’ by making him Prime Minister, ‘they need to know a little bit about you, what makes you tick’ – and that included his family.

Mr Miliband’s comments in GQ are the latest in a series of interventions by the Foreign Secretary designed to raise his profile.

Only last weekend, he ended his reluctance to talk about Isaac and his other son, Jacob, who is approaching his first birthday, by saying he would throw himself in front of a train for them.

In the past he has complained to the Press Complaints Commission to stifle reports on the two boys, who were adopted by Mr Miliband and his musician wife Louise after they realised they could not have children.

Mr Miliband is still the preferred candidate for Blairite Labour MPs, despite a disastrous Labour conference where he was overheard saying he had downplayed his speech to avoid a ‘Heseltine moment’ – a reference to former Tory Cabinet Minister Michael Heseltine’s major role in bringing down Margaret Thatcher but never inheriting her crown.

And in his speech, Mr Brown took a thinly disguised swipe at Mr Miliband by telling delegates that the economic crisis meant this was ‘no time for a novice’.

The November issue of GQ is on sale from Thursday.

Council officer threw himself off 100ft bridge after becoming depressed with authority's 'immoral' decisions

Daily Mail 25th September 2008

Julian Grail: Jumped off the 100ft Tamar Bridge after becoming depressed with 'immoral' decisions being made at Plymouth City Council

A council planning officer threw himself off a 100ft bridge after becoming depressed with the authority's 'immoral' decisions involving 'huge amounts' of taxpayer's money, an inquest heard.

Tormented Julian Grail, 56, plunged to his death after telling his headmistress wife Joanne he could not cope with being 'party to actions that were morally wrong' at Plymouth City Council.

Father-of-two Grail was a performance and planning officer in the council's chief executive's office after previously working in the social services department for more than 20 years.

But this year Julian, who spent many hours doing voluntary youth and community work, began to tell friends and family of his 'grave concerns' about the way the council spent money.

On April 17 he left his wife a note saying he 'could not face the thought of another day in that forlorn place' and jumped off the Tamar Bridge that spans Devon and Cornwall.

Joanne, 51, of Saltash, Cornwall, told an inquest in Truro her husband was a 'tireless community worker' and a 'person of total integrity' who became tormented at his council role.

She said: 'In 2008 Julian began to voice grave concerns about his job.

'He had a very strong sense of fair play and he began to think those principles didn't sit alongside the job he was asked to do.

'He was party to things that he thought were immoral. Sometimes huge amounts of money were involved.

'He was a person of total integrity, immense decency, utter compassion, enormous sensitivity and uncompromising, unflinching principle.

'Over the last few years he struggled to come to terms with aspects of his professional life that he saw as unjust and unfair.'

The hearing heard that Mr Grail was seconded to the chief executive's office in early 2006 and was then employed as a performance and planning officer.

CCTV footage showed a man walking on to the bridge from the western side shortly after midnight and climbing over the railings before jumping.

Mrs Grail, headmistress of Delabole Primary School in Cornwall, read the suicide note left by her husband at 11am in the morning.

It said: 'Please do not take any responsibility for this mess. Take care of these fine children as you always have done.

'I just can't contemplate the thought of another day in that forlorn place.'

Cornwall Coroner Dr Emma Carlyon recorded a verdict of suicide, adding: 'At the time of his death he was suffering from work-related stresses.'

A council spokesman paid tribute but refused to comment on Julian's accusations.

He said: 'Julian was a highly valued and respected member of staff whose tragic loss is still deeply felt by his colleagues and the many friends he made here at the council over the years.'

Allegations against police rise

BBC News 25 September 2008

A record number of allegations were made against the police in England and Wales last year, says the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Figures show there were 48,280 claims in 2007/08 - an increase of 5% on the previous year.

However the number of complaints - which can be made up of more than one allegation - has remained stable.

The Home Office says allegations have risen because people are more aware of their rights but only 11% are proved.

The IPCC says they received the highest number of allegations since complaints began to be investigated independently in 1985.

Stop-and-search

Almost a quarter of the allegations were categorised as "other neglect or failure in duty".

Allegations of "incivility, impoliteness and intolerance" accounted for more than one in five of the total number.

There was a sharp rise in claims relating to the use of stop-and-search - up from 434 in 2006/07 to 536 this year. Allegations of corruption rose from 236 to 290.

The police force recording the biggest percentage increase in allegations against officers was Sussex, which saw a rise of 91%.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "We believe there are largely technical reasons for the large increase in Sussex during 2007-08.

"However we are not complacent and we and Sussex Police Authority continue to examine the data closely in order to draw lessons from it so that we can continue to develop and improve the policing service we deliver."

Northamptonshire Police recorded the biggest fall, with 32% fewer allegations received.

The IPCC said the number of complaints - which may consist more than one allegation - has stabilised.

Alienation

Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights group Liberty, said the rise in complaints over the use of stop-and-search were particularly worrying.

She told BBC News: "Yes, stop-and-search has a role, but it ought to be a rapier, not a bludgeon.

"Let's not have indiscriminate stop and searching on the streets of this country."

Ms Chakrabarti said stop-and-search powers should be focused on potentially high-risk situations, such as after a spate of stabbings, but should not be deployed as a blanket approach.

To do so, she said, would be a return to the infamous "Sus" laws that alienated many young men.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We welcome the publication of the IPCC figures and we note that there has been no change in the number of complaints.

"We say the increase in allegations is positive thing because it points to a greater public awareness of people' rights and more confidence in the system."

The Home Office also says only 11% of allegations against the police are being proved - and that number is not rising.

Black farmer quizzed by police THREE times on suspicion of stealing food from his own field

Daily Mail 23rd September 2008

As a farmer, David Mwanaka believes he is unusual  -  one of only two black ones in the whole of Britain.

In fact, he is such a rare sight that three times in five days he found himself being questioned by police who accused him of stealing crops.

On one occasion, he claimed, four patrol cars turned up at the farm where he rents land to grow maize, pumpkins, sweet potatoes and sweetcorn.

He said yesterday that he had been reported by people 'who are not used to seeing a black man working in a farmer's field'.

Mr Mwanaka, 42, who is originally from Zimbabwe, was with his wife Brenda and another worker when police first approached him on the morning of Saturday, September 13, as he picked maize.

He said he was questioned for half an hour and searched. Officers also checked his van.

He had to call the white farmer from whom he rents his field in Rothley, Leicestershire, before police were finally satisfied that he wasn't stealing food.

'They asked me what I was doing and I told them I was cropping my maize,' he said. 'They said they couldn't believe me so they asked me for my ID and they did some checks on my vehicle.

'Then I had to call the local farmer, from whom I rent the field, to come and help me with the situation. He was able to tell them who I was and explain that I was renting the field from him. 

Police interest: Mr Mwanaka was visited by police three times in a week after 'ignorant' neighbours thought he was stealing crops

Then on Monday the same thing happened again. Some officers came over again and said, "We've got a report that you are stealing maize".

'I had to go over the whole thing all over again, proving my ID and convincing them I was genuine.

'Then on Wednesday I was in the field when I heard a lady police officer saying, "Hello, hello" so I went over to her and she said she was looking for a thief.

'There were four police cars there, I couldn't believe it. I explained to the officer that I wasn't stealing maize, that I was a farmer, but I had to go over the same process all over again to prove that I was telling them the truth.

Smallholder: The farmer rents his fields near Rothley, Leicestershire, from a white farmer. He also grows crops in north London

'It was a waste of time on my side and for the police. They should have shared the information about this and communicated better.'

Mr Mwanaka, who supplies white sweetcorn to Sainsbury's stores, added: 'The police said the people who reported me had said there was a black man stealing food from a farmer's field.'

The farmer, who commutes to his crops from his home in Basildon, Essex, was a journalist in his home country but moved to Britain in 1991, initially to study. He said he was not offended by the incidents, which are the first time in the five years that he has rented the land that he has encountered trouble.

He added: 'If it was the same person calling the police each time, that would be racist. The police haven't told me who has been making the reports, but I suspect people have just become concerned because they are not used to seeing a black man in this area.'

A spokesman for Leicestershire Police said they had a duty to respond to every call made by the public reporting a suspected crime. He added: 'On all occasions, officers attended the scene and they were satisfied there were no suspicious circumstances.'

The National Farmers Union said it did not keep statistics on black farmers.

The best-known black farmer in Britain  -  thought to be the only one other than Mr Mwanaka  -  is Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, 50.

He farms in Devon and sells food such as sausages under the brand name The Black Farmer.

Miliband gets clear run at Labour leadership as he gives four page interview to Mirror

Daily Mail 20 September 2008

David Miliband urged Labour party members to shake off their defeatism and 'pull together' behind embattled Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

In a four page interview with the Mirror, Miliband gave a series of rousing statements which would be expected from a party leader.

Ahead of the party's annual conference in Manchester, the Foreign Secretary outlined his vision for the future and a renewed party unity.

Alan Johnson yesterday ruled himself out of a future Labour leadership contest, clearing the way for Miliband to take the top job.

In an interview about the party's future, he praised the young Foreign Secretary, saying: 'David's got a great future in the party... he's a huge talent... I'm a great fan.'

Speaking of the Labour leadership, he said: 'I haven’t got any false modesty but I don’t aspire to that job.'

Despite being the favourite to replace Brown as Labour Party leader, Miliband insisted there was no 'vacancy' in the job.

On the way to Manchester, Miliband told the Daily Mirror: 'We've got good answers to the problems of the modern world.

'We've got to show we've got the idealism and the drive to address the new problems. Defeatism about the country won't win any medals.

'The Labour Party conference is a five-day opportunity for the party to put a strong, determined, clear, unified face before the public.

'It is time for the party to come together. I've made it clear I don't think it's the time for a leadership election. It's time to address the fundamental challenges - that's why it's the time to pull together.'

'This is a very testing time, but the point about tests is you pull together and you meet them. We need to show we understand the gravity of the challenges being put to the country, that we have the imagination and resolve to address them and the firmness of purpose to help people's lives.'

With Conservatives leading in the polls, Miliband criticised leader David Cameron for being insincere to voters and putting 'the con into Conservative'.

He said: 'We have to expose the emptiness. There's a hollow centre there - they say they don't want to make people less poor, but they want to spend less money on it.

'They say they want to have better schools, but want to cut the school building programme. They say they want progressive ends, but in fact Conservative means are going to destroy those ends.

'You've got Gordon and Alistair, who a year ago had to deal with Northern Rock, in the teeth of Tory opposition - and not a single depositor has lost any money on Northern Rock. And now you've got them acting decisively on Halifax.

'Then you've got David Cameron and George Osborne who opposed the rescue of Northern Rock and have no clue how they would deal with the current crisis.'

Binmen won't take this man's flattened boxes... unless he cuts them up first

Daily Mail 12th September 2008

After having his fitted kitchen installed, John Browne thought disposing of the cardboard boxes the fixtures had come in would be the easy bit.

The retired engineer folded and flattened the boxes and left them in a neat pile for the binmen to collect.

But when he found they had left the boxes in his garden, he called the council, and was told he would have to cut the boxes into smaller pieces before they could be taken.

Six days on, and the boxes remain outside his home in Hawkinge, Kent, after a series of baffling exchanges with the council, which on one occasion included the authority denying it collected cardboard at all.

Mr Browne, 64, said yesterday: 'The council tries to encourage us to recycle but they don't make it easy.

'It was all tidily set out but when the recycling men came round they just left it there.

'What really upset me was that on the day I phoned the council they specifically told me they didn't collect cardboard - which I knew was absolute nonsense.

'After I put the phone down I took my dog for a walk and I saw a vehicle which they use solely to collect cardboard being driven around about a quarter of a mile from my house.

'Then when I called back to tell them they admitted they did collect cardboard - but only in cornflakes box-size pieces.

'And they asked me if it was flytipped. I was honest and told them it was mine and they said, "Oh, if it was fly-tipped we could have collected it for you".

'So if I had chucked the lot of it in my neighbour's garden it would have already been taken away.

The cardboard is still there and I've cut it up. The council assure me they are going to come and collect it on Friday but I don't hold out much hope.'

He added: 'We have already switched from weekly to fortnightly rubbish collections, so that is a depletion of service, and now this happens.'

A spokesman for Swale Borough Council said the 'cutting up' advice was given in error, adding: 'On this occasion Mr Browne was misinformed by us regarding this collection and we apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused.'

UK Lockdown point of view
As the EU regulation straight jacket tightens around our society we can expect to see increasing instances like this taking place, this article is one of many that highlights exactly what is going wrong but that at the same time refuses to mention any connection the EU.

Now computer drive disappears carrying personal details of 5,000 prison officers

Daily Mail 6th September 2008

Prison scare: Jack Straw has ordered an inquiry into the security breach

Computer details about 5,000 prison officers have gone missing in the latest data security disaster to hit the Government - potentially costing the taxpayer millions.

An inquiry has been ordered by Justice Secretary Jack Straw, who was not informed until today even though the loss of the data was reported to the Prison Service in July.

The hard drive contains information including names, dates of birth, National Insurance numbers and Prison Service employee numbers, according to a letter from private computing firm EDS.

It was last seen as long ago as July 2007.

The Prison Officers' Association said the loss, which it had not been informed about, could end up costing the taxpayer millions of pounds.

National chairman Colin Moses said: 'We are extremely concerned that not only has this data been lost, but that the Prison Service appear to have tried to conceal this serious breach in security.

'It is a breach that we believe could ultimately cost the taxpayer millions and millions of pounds, because, if the information lost is personal and sensitive, it may well mean staff having to move prisons, move homes and relocate their families.

'This obviously will have a significant cost to the taxpayer.

'We believe that the people who have tried to conceal this serious breach should be brought to account and we are calling on Jack Straw to fully investigate this matter and ensure that justice is seen to be done.'

In a statement, Mr Straw said: 'I am extremely concerned about this missing data.

'I was informed of its loss at lunchtime today (Saturday) and have ordered an urgent inquiry into the circumstances and the implications of the data loss and the level of risk involved.'

He added: 'I have also asked for a report as to why I was not informed as soon as my department became aware of this issue.'

Ministry of Justice officials are contacting EDS as part of the inquiry, he said.

Mr Straw added: We take these matters extremely seriously.'

The disappearance of the hard drive, revealed in the News of the World, is the latest in a string of data losses to embarrass the Government.

Two computer discs vanished last October containing personal details of 25 million child benefit claimants.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Herbert immediately attacked Labour's record on data security.

'The records of prisoners have been lost already and now we discover that personal data about prison officers has gone too,' he said.

'When was this incompetent Government planning to own up to another data disaster - this time one which has put the security of thousands of its own employees at risk - and if, as they claim, they didn't know about this until now, who on earth is actually running the Department?'

UK Lockdown point of view
Another case of government corruption disguised as a cover up, while it may be nice to believe that our government are simply incompetent fools the truth is slightly more sinister, these acts are only made to look incompetent by the deceptive Zionist owned media to disguise the truth which is that all of the cases where info has either apparently been 'stolen' or 'gone missing' is simply a cover for the fact that this information is being sold and in some cases given to sources who want the information.
Military intelligence organisations, Multi national companies, Organised crime gangs and the EU have all been known to use these types of covert criminal tactics to acquire Intel/info.