14 DAY TRIAL // The names, dates of birth and immigration statuses of close to 1,600 illegal immigrants have been inadvertently posted online on the website of the United Kingdom’s Home Office between October 15 and October 28.
According to the Daily Mail, personal addresses and financial information has not been exposed. Officials said that the page on which the information was posted was only visited 30 times.
They’re confident that the risk for the information to have been accessed is low. Immigration Minister Mark Harper has noted that measures have been taken to prevent future incidents.
However, some – such as Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, and Shadow Immigration Minister David Hanson – have taken the opportunity to criticize the Home Office for its incompetence.
Both the Home Office and the Information Commissioner’s Office have launched an investigation.
The impacted individuals are in the family returns process, which deals with immigrants who have no right to be in the United Kingdom.