I think it is appalling what has happened with the lost data.

What happened?

Actually, my local newsrag had an article that I assume is the event in question. (No link as they don't leave anything accessible for more than about 3 days.) It does NOT seem to have appeared on the few "web news" sites I visit, thus - for those not in the UK:

[quoted via OCR from scan]

THE WICHITA EAGLE • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2007 [Wichita KS, US]

25 million Britons at risk of identity theft

The British government lost two CDs with detailed identity and financial information on millions of families who receive child benefits

BY KIM MURPHY
Los Angeles Times

LONDON — The British government was reeling under a political firestorm Wednesday brought on by revelations that the personal identity and banking details of 25 million Britons have been lost in the government's internal mail system. In what Treasury Chancellor Alistair Darling called a "catastrophic" and "unforgivable" breach, government officials admitted they still have no idea what happened to two compact discs that contained birthdates, addresses, government ID numbers and bank account details for nearly every family in Britain with a child under the age of 16. Financial analysts said the missing data could allow anyone who found it to apply for loans or mortgages under an adopted identity. Child welfare workers said the loss compromised children's safety by including names, birthdates and addresses of millions of children. Banks were bracing for a flood of queries from account holders worried that their account security could be compromised.

Though Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been in office only five months, his government is taking a pummeling over this security breach — mainly because it is not the first. At least two other significant security lapses have occurred under his watch.

The new crisis follows the Brown government's bailout of the nation's fifth-largest mortgage lender, Northern Rock, after fallout from the subprime lending crisis in the U.S. in September led to the first run on a British bank in more than a century.

"I profoundly regret and apologize for the inconvenience and worries that have been caused to millions of families who receive child benefit," Brown said as he received a blistering attack in the House of Commons.

The loss involves records maintained for Britons who receive government stipends of about $38 a week for their children under the age of 16— nearly all British families with children, sincethere are no income restrictions on the payments.

The payments often are deposited directly into families' bank accounts, meaning account numbers and muting codes are included in a large number of files.

"Half the country will be very anxious about the safety of their family and the security of their bank accounts, and the whole country will be wondering how on earth the government allowed this to happen," the opposition Conservative Party's shadow chancellor, George Osborne, said.

[end quote]

Is this the right stuff?

John