Northern Ireland Driver and Vehicle Agency Data Breach (2007)

The details of three million learner drivers have gone missing, Ruth Kelly told MPs this evening. The transport secretary said the names, addresses and phone numbers of theory test candidates were among details on a computer hard drive which went missing in the US in May. Unlike the recent data loss scandal at HM Revenue and Customs, bank account details did not go astray. Kelly had been expected to make a statement about the loss of more than 7,000 motorists' details by the Northern Ireland Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) which emerged last week, but was forced to admit that a more serious breach had since been unearthed. She told MPs that she regretted the lapse, but said data sharing was a necessary part of providing a good service to Britain's drivers. Kelly announced five new measures to improve the security of information, including a new electronic link to provide regular information to police, and merging two separate databases of registered vehicles currently held by the DVLA in Swansea and the Driver and Vehicle Agency in Northern Ireland.