Standards Watchdog Blames Technical Error for Breach of UK MPs' Personal Data

Information about salaries of UK lawmakers as well as some personal data leaked due to a technical error, the chief executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), Marcial Boo, said on Friday in a statement.

LONDON (Sputnik) – The statement comes as troves of UK lawmakers' personal data were wrongly published on the web. The data are believed to have been accessible for about four hours.

"I am very sorry to write to inform you that last night there was a serious data breach on the old IPSA website. Some documents were published in error. These should not have been made public as they contained confidential personal information about MPs’ staff names, salaries, rewards, working patterns and holiday entitlements," Boo said.

He pointed out that no information related to lawmakers’ security – addresses, bank account details, phone numbers and National Insurance numbers – was disclosed.

"However, we recognise that this was still extremely sensitive personal information. We take information security very seriously and the safety and security of MPs and their staff is a priority. An investigation is currently underway and we have notified the Information Commissioner," Boo said.

He added that that the problem was fixed within an hour after it had been revealed.