Employers could be kept in the dark about the criminal records of some job applicants under a review of rules by the home secretary.

Sajid Javid said the government needed to “look again” at how much was revealed about people who had committed certain crimes when they applied for jobs.

Anyone with more than one conviction automatically has details shared with potential employers, no matter how much time has passed, but the Home Office has held discussions with the Ministry of Justice about a potential change after a supreme court ruling in favour of three people who said the rules had had a destructive effect on their lives.

Javid said: “One thing I am looking at, to give you one example, is the disclosure service, youth criminality disclosure, and whether we can look again at the approach that is sometimes taken there.

“So, for example, if a young person today has committed two offences, no matter what they are, so could be twice they shoplifted when they were 11 and 12 or something, that record can linger for years and years when they are an adult. They may find they are never getting a proper chance to turn around, I think we need to be sensible and look again at issues like this.”

He shared details of the rethink after a speech in east London in which he said he “could have actually turned out to have a life of crime” as a youngster.

The judges found the scheme was disproportionate after the home and justice secretaries challenged a court of appeal judgment in 2017 over the legality of the scheme.