The private data and correspondence of hundreds of German politicians and public figures including Angela Merkel has been released online in one of the biggest hacks in the country’s history, it emerged on Friday.

The private emails, telephone numbers and even holiday photos of MPs, prominent journalists and entertainers were released via a Twitter account.

Much of the data is mundane and undramatic, according to initial reports in the German press. But one reporter for Bild newspaper tweeted that he had found evidence of “nepotism and political scandals”.

Politicians from all major German political parties except the nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) were targeted in the leaks.

In a serious embarrassment to the German security services, it emerged that the data has been released in a series of daily instalments since December 1, but authorities only became aware of the leak in the last 24 hours.

The data was released via a Twitter account in the name of @_Orbit, registered to a user claiming to be in Hamburg. The account has since been suspended and some of the shared files have been taken down.