Confidential Government data lost

Confidential Government data, concerning three million British learner drivers, is missing from a 'secure facility' in America. The data concerns all driving theory test candidates from 2004 to 2007.

Two CDs, containing the names, addresses and bank details of 25 million people, are also missing after they were lost last month. Government ministers are currently revising the punishment for wilful abuse of data, making it an offence punishable by a two-year prison sentence, rather than just a fine.

Driving test records, containing names, addresses, and phone numbers, had been stored in a facility in Iowa City, Iowa, America, which was owned by Pearson Driving Assessments Limited, the company that designs the software for the theory tests, administers the test, and records the results (and data of those who take the test). The data went missing in May this year.

Government officials insist, however, that the missing information, taken from what Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly (above) described as a 'secure facility' would be available in the phone book anyway. The data concerns three million British learner drivers who took a theory test between 2004 and 2007.

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