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The head of HM Revenue & Customs has resigned after two computer discs containing the banking details of 25million Britons were confirmed as lost. Paul Grey said it was “right” he quit as chairman due to his department’s “serious operational failing” in its legal duty to protect people’s personal details. The lost data include the records of every UK Child Benefit recipient, equating to 25m individuals and 7.25m families, Alistair Darling told The House of Commons yesterday. The chancellor said names, addresses; dates of birth, child benefit numbers, national insurance numbers and banking details had all been compromised. They were stored on two password-protected computer discs that a junior tax official sent to the National Audit Office, but wrongly; they were sent by standard not registered post. When an initial set of the discs sent on October 18 failed to show up, a new set was simply resent to the auditor. No data loss was reported until November 8. Sources close to the matter declined to tell CUK the format of the discs for fear of giving details that might aid a fraudster, should they fall into criminal hands. The Met Police, which is investigating their loss alongside the IPCC, say there is no evidence of the data being used for “fraudulent purposes, or criminal activity”. Mr Darling added his assurance yesterday, saying “no unusual activity” has come to light since the discs disappeared. He did, however, urge people to monitor their bank accounts. Acting Lib Dem leader Vince Cable said the data loss shows that the government’s “systems of management…are totally dysfunctional.” Speaking later to the BBC, he said the incident characterised a government whose information technology practice was stuck in the past. He asked: “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.” Tax experts believe the massive data leak was compounded by the complexity of the UK tax system, which they say is in urgent need of simplification. “The tax system has become so complex that it cannot run efficiently,” a spokesperson for the Chartered Institute of Taxation said yesterday. “Faced with such a complicated system, a merger between two large government departments into HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) was bound to produce difficulty.” Micro business groups point out that under current law, HMRC would not have to compensate a single taxpayer for any potential harm they may suffer if criminals obtain their data. “Paul Gray has taken responsibility for the loss of taxpayers’ confidential data, but that is not enough,” blasted John Brazier, managing director of the PCG. In a letter to Mr Darling, the trade group for contractors will urge the government to place HMRC under a duty of care to all taxpayers, beyond its legal duty of protecting their information. Mr Brazier said: “HMRC rarely has to compensate the taxpayer, no matter how much damage has been done. This simply cannot be allowed to continue.” Officials at the Cabinet Office have named Dave Hartnett as acting chairman of HM Revenue and Customs, until a permanent replacement for Mr Gray is appointed. Nov 21, 2007 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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