Inland Revenue boss quits over 'major ops failure'

The usual political BS

The BBC says "Revenue and Customs says it does not believe the records - names, addresses, date of birth and bank accounts - have fallen into the wrong hands."

Translation "We lost all your personal data through gross negligence. Therefor we cannot make any meaningful assertions as to where it is. To make any statement indicating our belief about its whereabouts is clearly going to be utter shite. But we'll give it a go anyway, seeing as your all dumb."

At last! Responsibility

Are you sure that this guy actually works for a government department? I mean, don't they all go "It wasn't my fault and steps are now being taken to ensure that this won't happen again".

Anyways...if you have to take that many personal details home with you (can't think why, but anyways) - is it really beyond the wit of IT depts to ensure that local files are all encrypted?

Not yet

There's still a few more things Darling Alistair needs to take the fall for before he hands over to Ed Balls. It'll happen a month or so before or after the Spring 2008 Budget, either giving enough time for Ed to take the credit for some (illusionary) tax cuts, or to let the upset die down when there aren't any (illusionary or otherwise).

Who says it's Darling's fault?

Most of the cockups that were highlighted last night on the BBC's Watchdog program were actually during Brown's tenureship. If anyone should resign from government it's Gordon Brown!

Courier..

...Was a secure courier. it's standard practice and goes on all the time - and should be better then letting individuals transporting said data and leaving it on the train etc

Not encrypted though - that's Rule 101.

HMRC?

I wonder if the IT provider for the Child Benefit Systems will take the blame as it isn't one of the HMRC users who would be able to extract the data then lose it.

A government minister resign? You jest sir!

Yes Alistair Darling just happened to be in charge of the financial system during the worst bank run in a century and a bit, and yes he was involved in regulating the banking system, and yes he might have been involved in running the Revenue during this fiasco, and yes he knew more than a week ago and did nothing to inform the public, and yes as a Parliamentarian he should know the provisions of the DPA he helped create, and yes he's ludicrously well paid with fringe benefits to his fringe benefits - but does that mean he's meant to be responsible?

Why should Darling resign

surely it should be the person who oversaw the merger etc - i.e. Brown

If you have done nothing wrong

Then all you have to fear is incompetence in the Government bureaucracy – imagine if the data has be from the ID card scheme (well except it would be 80% wrong, but that is another reason to fear it)

For the want of a nail the kingdom was lost

According to Alistair (Oh!) Darling, the CDs were sent by TNT, unregistered, unrecorded.

If they'd used Royal Mail it'd have cost an extra 94p for recorded, signed-for delivery.

believe nothing until it is officially denied

So now, Darling, exactly where are these "not the wrong hands" into which the agency data has fallen, and how much do they want for it's guaranteed unmolested return. Be honest now, Darling, unless you know where the data (and all subsequent copies) have gone and can confirm that every external trace of that information has been destroyed then it is nothing short of a bare-faced lie to say anything other than, "the data is LOST" and by definition, "all of the information contained therein is AT RISK", not least of all from the incompetent manager who ran the system within which this delicate information could become lost, don't you think, Darling?

How can you justify the claim that losing the birth records and account details of over 15000 financially vulnerable individuals constitutes anything other than a completely unacceptable collapse of the very last pathetic vestiges of competence within our grotesque parody of a politically sound and democratic governing structure, Darling?, Brown?, B-Liar?

Maybe we need a shiny "Flaming Scientist" icon for me and a small steamy brown one for "political comment.

Nothing to hide, nothing to fear

Hopefully this cock-up will make a few of the "Nothing to fear, nothing to hide" ID card sheep change their minds......

On the other hand, sheep aren't known for their intelligence and independent thinking.

25m records now

Does that mean one record per family, which must equate to practically every family in the country!

This 'government' is not fit for purpose >-|

Is this a new loss of data on CD...

...or the fallout from the one reported a couple of weeks ago, which was, IIRC HMRC -> [some Building Society - Nationwide?

Serious fraud?

Has anyone considered the more sinister interpretation of these events, i.e. that the junior employee is actually a member of an organised crime gang? Maybe he/she got that job specifically to steal as much personal and bank information as possible? Has anyone checked his house for the CDs?

re: Hang on

Jeb

I have no problem with the low level person making a mistake - what is frightening is that low level person had access to all of this data in such a way they could do this job they were unqualified to do - that to me is a major failing in management, which is why heads need to roll

So unlike his spineless masters - the head resigned to stem the blood demand that would be sweeping the papers tomorrow, though lets hope that the papers go after the masters

Sweepstake

So, which bank/building society is going to be the first to offer to change the account numbers and issue new cheque books + cards for all affected customers to prevent money being lifted from these (potentially) compromised accounts?

Useless - utterly useless

If this government were run like a company then there would have been a vote of no confidence suggested, passed and rubber stamped by the shareholders ie us poor sods.

Whitehall would be littered with jobless beaurocrats, my only fear is that all these jobsworths would infect other organisations :-(

The odds...

...of Darling falling on his sword are this: 0. Firstly he's a politician and therefore a lying, spineless twonk until proven otherwise (cue ironic laughter) and secondly he can point to the fact that HMRC is a non-ministerial department and therefore it cannot possibly be anything to do with him personally.

The fact that he looks like a badger may bring hope should They carry out their proposed cull, but that's the only way we'll get rid of him before the next reshuffle.