Information on staff’s names, pay, working patterns and holidays was uploaded in error and stayed up for four hours

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Confidential data about MPs’ staff pay, working patterns and holidays was accidentally posted on the internet for four hours by the House of Commons expenses watchdog.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) said it was writing to all MPs and their staff affected to apologise for the distress caused.

A spokesman said the watchdog was alerted to the “serious data breach” by an MP’s member of staff after the document was uploaded in error on an old website on Thursday night.

It included confidential personal information about the names of MPs’ staff, salaries, rewards, working patterns and holiday entitlements.

In a letter to MPs, Marcial Boo, the chief executive of Ipsa, said the document was taken down within an hour of it becoming aware of the issue.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ipsa chief executive’s letter to MPs. Photograph: Ipsa

“We take information security very seriously and the safety and security of MPs and their staff is a priority,” he said.

“An investigation is currently under way and we have notified the information commissioner. We will be writing directly to all of those affected. I sincerely apologise to you for the distress this has caused.”

He said no information relating to the security of the individuals affected had been made public.



“No addresses, no bank account details, no phone numbers, and no National Insurance numbers were disclosed. However, we recognise that this was still extremely sensitive personal information,” Boo added.

Ipsa, which was set up to oversee a tighter expenses regime after the scandal of 2009, has been unpopular with MPs since its inception, with complaints of late payments and an overly complicated computer system.

It controversially recommended a 10% pay rise for MPs in 2015, taking their annual salaries from £67,000 to £74,000 despite years of pay freezes for public sector workers.

