Advertisement

Updated January 15th, 2021 at 19:57 IST

'Not good enough': Priti Patel under pressure as UK loses data of 150,000 criminals

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel is under pressure to account for British police department losing data for nearly 150,000 arrest records in an error last week.

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
Priti Patel
| Image:self
Advertisement

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel is under pressure to account for British police department losing data for nearly 150,000 arrest records. The incident took place last week, the deleted database reportedly included fingerprint history, DNA details and arrest records of thousands of criminals in the country who now might be freed owing to the failure of evidence. However, Patel has not only received criticism by opposition leaders but also being accused of ‘hiding’ behind her junior minister.

UK Government Minister for Crime & Policing, Kit Malthouse has issued a statement on January 15 acknowledging the incident due to an ‘error’ on the Police National Computer stating that the loss “relates to individuals who were arrested and then released with no further action”.

But the Times had said “crucial intelligence about suspects” had vanished because of the blunder while UK’s visa system had been thrown into disarray as the processing of the applicants being suspended for at least two days. Following the incident shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds said that UK Home Secretary should also provide an urgent statement and Malthouse issuing an update was ‘not good enough’. 

In a statement, Thomas-Symonds said, “It’s not good enough for the home secretary to hide behind her junior minister on this when there has been such a major security breach on her watch. It’s now vital that she makes an urgent statement outlining the true scale of the issue, when ministers were informed and what the plan is to provide public reassurance. Yet again, Conservative incompetence is putting people’s safety at risk.”

He added, “This is an extraordinarily serious security breach that presents huge dangers for public safety. The incompetence of this shambolic government cannot be allowed to put people at risk, let criminals go free and deny victims justice.”

Read - UK PM Boris Johnson Vows To Stop Government Funding For Fossil Fuel Projects Overseas

Read - UK Imposes Travel Restrictions Amid Worries Of New Variant

UK lost criminal database after European records

Even after Britain lost the crucial database of the European Union after Brexit, UK had boasted about having adequate criminal information. In the last week’s incident, at least 40,000 alerts relating to European criminals were also reportedly deleted from the PNC after the UK signed the post-Brexit agreement with the 27-nation-bloc after the transition period ended. PNC in the country basically allows real-time checks on people and the vehicles with records of millions being registered on it. 

Read - 114 People Test Positive For UK Variant Of Coronavirus

Read - UK Bans Travel From SAmerica, Portugal Over New Variant
 

Advertisement

Published January 15th, 2021 at 19:59 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo