When identity cards first came to the attention of the public, many of us were concerned about EVEN MORE centralised information being in the hands of our government.– and now the validity of such concerns is clear to all : 25 million records including financial details, apparently routinely transferred, unencrypted, by junior officials onto standard CDs and put in the post, unregistered, unprotected except for passwords that schoolkids could break.

It almost sounds like an April Fool’s joke, it’s that inconceivable – except that this isn’t April and it’s no joke.  Data we trust our government to preserve is now, more than likely, in the hands of criminals – and what a bonanza. If the people of Britain don’t treat this disaster as a major wakeup call then heaven help us. Seems to me that the government is very good at apologising for getting it wrong but disastrous at not getting it wrong in the first place.  Between this and recent revelations of the TV companies ripping us all off, one could be forgiven for wondering if we’ve lost the plot somehow.