In Parliament Wednesday, Home Secretary Alan Johnson responded to a question by Chris Gayling:
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2010, Official Report, column 29W, on departmental data protection, what activities constituted inappropriate use of information in each case of disciplinary action and dismissal. [313461]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 26 January 2010]: Further to my answer of 18 January 2010, Official Report, column 29W, that confirmed that UK Border Agency (UKBA) and Identity and Passport Service (IPS) staff had been subject to disciplinary action and dismissal for inappropriate use of information obtained from an immigration database and/or an identity card or passport database, I can confirm that in respect of UKBA the activities which constituted inappropriate use of information and the numbers subject to disciplinary action or dismissal are as follows:
Falsified records and manipulated Home Office systems: 5
Unauthorised access to a database or allowing another person to use their log in: 6
It is UKBA policy not to disclose any personal information or to provide a further breakdown of the numbers of staff below five where this may potentially reveal to a third party the identity of the individuals involved.
We have therefore provided a total of the staff disciplined for each activity recorded which constituted inappropriate use of information.
IPS records do not specify the activities involved in each particular case.
Hat-tip, The Register.