MPs are calling for new offences to allow Whitehall departments to be prosecuted for data security blunders such as the loss of child benefit records for 25 million people.

The cross-party Commons Justice Committee says that the criminal law must be strengthened to close loopholes and reflect the gravity of offences involving the theft or loss of personal data. Ministers are already planning to toughen sanctions for data protection offences. Government sources suggest that penalties will include up to two years’ imprisonment rather than fines as at present.

In a report on the protection of private data, the MPs claimed that there was too much focus on raising penalties for current offences and not enough consideration of new offences.

They pointed to loopholes in the Data Protection Act 1988, saying that individuals and private organisations could be held criminally liable for data protection breaches but not government departments or agencies such as Revenue & Customs, which lost two discs of child benefit records last year.

The MPs also called for new offences for the reckless or intentional disclosure of personal information by a government department or business that is a recognised data controller, as demanded by Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner.

Alan Beith, the Liberal Democrat MP and chairman of the committee, said: “The scale of the data loss by government bodies and contractors is truly shocking but the evidence we have had points to further hidden problems. It is frankly incredible, for example, that the measures [Revenue & Customs] has put in place were not already standard procedure.”

Explore Law

• Columnists

• Law Panel

• Law Reports

• Student Law

Times Recommends

• BGC 'set aside £40m to lure Tullett brokers'
• Legal aid review to ensure value
• Fears as 21 magistrates' courts face closure