THOUSANDS of benefit claimants have been told their Post Office account details may have been accidentally sent to the wrong addresses, in the latest scandal involving lost data to shake the government, writes Marie Woolf.

The Post Office has written to apologise to 5,500 customers who use card accounts to access benefits. A leaked memo from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says the blunder is likely to be blamed on “government incompetence”.

Details that may have been sent to the wrong homes include names, account numbers and records of benefit pay-outs. The card accounts are used by millions of people who receive benefits, but the Post Office said only a small proportion of the 5,500 customers would be affected.

“Gordon Brown said the loss of the child database was not symptomatic of a broader problem in government,” said Chris Grayling, shadow work and pensions secretary. “This latest incident proves that simply isn’t true.”

The DWP memo warns that the latest data loss will lead the public to think “you can’t rely on the government or its suppliers to look after your information”. It says criticism of the government’s data security arrangements should be firmly rebutted.

View the leaked data memo

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