And guess what ?.......EDS is an american company, surprise, surprise.

Josh Martin, Oxford , England

. This Labour Government have little regard for anyone or anything.

They are the ones complaing about having their home details published in the expenses fiasco. Why when they so willingly publish everybody elses by losing data. Someone sgould be held responsible, who gave EDS this contract?

bee, york,

The IT contractor should pay for their incompetence not the taxpayers.There must be no more such extreme negligence and incomptenece and a clause in the agreement between the relevant parties should reslove such endless mishaps.
If they have to pay they will treat the issue more seriously.

Nabil, Bexhill,

What's going to happen when those prison officers start getting visits from old friends? One of these many data losses will eventually find its way into the wrong hands. Too late to say oooops then.

Udo, Melbourne, Australia

After their messup with HMRC why the heck was EDS given any governmental contract? Sorry, I know the reason, so that HMRC can collect it's £26.5m compensation! Idiots! Because of that the government has lost a lot more than £26.5m!

Jonathan Sklan-Willis, Manchester, England

It is ridiculous to blame the government. EDS lost the data so they should pay any costs.To follow your line of arguement it would mean that for trivial matters the Chief has to go. The chief does not monitor the actions nor can they be expected to do of staff. They have other things to do!

ian, Maidstone,

What more proof does anayone need that this government is not fit for purpose, whether its family benefits information MoD briefcases or whatever. And yet it is still obsessed with gathering more and more information about the rank and file public. And still they want compulsory I D cards

Jeremiah, London,

A government spokesman said "the rules have now been changed to prevent this happening". The rules did not need to change, the law needs to change to make government employees subject to the same law as the the rest of us, and subject to fines and imprisonment for release of other people's data.

KW, Bognor Regis, England

By the time ID cards come into play, sensitive information on almost everyone will be easily obtainable by anyone determined to get it.

People will complain about the loss of personal data; but these losses will make them less opposed to the ID card system - info. is already in the public domain.

Des, Edinburgh,

Lets have inquiry, lets not learn any lesson and lets carry on losing data. The government cannot be trusted and ministers are not accountable.

steve tea, manchester, cheshire

I gather EDS are bidding along with 4 others for the ID cards contract. No doubt they will win due to their marvellous track record on UK projects.

John, York,

Regretably this will not be the last in a series of mistakes caused by the procurement procedures. All the time the government insists on making decisions for huge contracts on the cheapest compliant bid we will get mistakes. Companies will cut corners to make a profit. Labour or Tory they areguilty

Nik, Horndean,

So why do a handful of large IT consultancies like EDS keep winning massive government contracts, despite their notorious business practices and regular cock-ups? Are they simply cheapest? Whatever, they should pay any costs, not the hapless taxpayer.

Chris K, Cheltenham, UK

"So What" Balls on the Marr show this morning discounted this as unimportant. He was too busy trying to discredit the Tories, for getting of course his "So what intervention of Cameron's speech post budget when the ten p issue was raised.

The sooner the UK is protected from this gentleman the bett

m. cawdery, Craigavon, Co. Uk, EU

These contracts for private firms should have procedures written in for data storage and loss. also security.
They must pay for the loss from their insurance that should be in the contract. The get paid well for the work then they must suffer.

Peter, Hastings, UK

Are we really going to to let these blundering fools put all our private and confidential data on to the projected vast national database - when they cannot keep track of all these sets of records that tey regularjy lose ? Why are there never any prosecutions following these avoidable manmade disasters ??

Ian, Berwick, UK

So let's get this straight. The government uses:
EDS: screwed up the MOD's payroll, accused of fraud by BSkyB and still hasn't compensatedt HMR&C after failing to supply.
PA Consulting: reowned for incompetence.
McKinsey: with a partner who doesn't even know who she's married to.

Well done!

Laura Roberts, London, UK

These are the people who want us to trust them with ALL our personal information, including fingerprints and other unique personal details. It seems they can't be trusted with anything at all. The man of Straw should have been calling for a Public Inquiry a long time ago.

Neil, Gloucestershire, England

I agree with Mike. You can't blame the government for human errors over non-compliance of policies to the handling of sensitive data. However, the Government can be blame for not introduce serious penalties [ie 10 years min imprisonment] for the mishandling of data. Is about accountability

dominik, london,

EDS again !
why do contracts keep going to companies who have failed us before ?
would I be wrong to think of corruption ?

Paul Greenwood, Worcester,

I agree with Mike of Reading: these lapses are due to incompetent IT management. Sensitive data should never be stored on insecure media (laptops, disks, etc.) but held on a secure database. Transfer should only occur via secure transmission lines and access-controlled.

Roger, Milan, Italy

The taxpayer will not be paying "millions and millions" in compensation to members of the POA because the govt has spent everything in the bank and is now running on empty. Confident prediction: private contractors EDS will not pay and will not be sacked.

Bob, St Albans, UK

i see the POA have wasted no time in 'this will cost the taxpayer milliions'. Any opportunity to exploit the situation and call for 'more spending' or certainly create a pointer towards this eventiuality. Very clever tactic and typically union tactic. Prentis does the same and Barber.

BD MATHERS, birmingham, UK

Why would it cost us millions? If the data loss hasn't caused any problems in the 13months since it happened why would it now. What a lot of scaremongering yet again.

Paul, Calne,

I agree with Steve Marchant and if only there were more like him entrusted to keep our data safe. Especially within our Local Authorities. I cannot emphasise too strongly the serious risks and harm that can be inflicted upon the victims of data mishandling and recklessness. I have had my life ruined

A Richards, Rhondda Cynon Taf, S Wales

Just wait until the ID cards come in. All our most sensitive data will be available to the public domain, both on purpose via thousands of Civil Servants to spy on your daily activities, and by "accident".

In the battle against ID theft HMG is part of the problem not the solution.

Mark T, Amlwch,

Mike, the government IS to blame. They are responsible for the departments they create, contracts awarded, and the people employed thereby. That is the nature of responsibility. I would like to see ministers being held personally accountable for this sort of incompetence.

Steve, Torrington,

The government is missing a major opportunity regarding lost data. Why don't they simply sell all computerized data direct on e-bay?

That will raise all of the extra money they require for the shortfall in the Olympics budget - and free-up extra cash to give pensioners their winter payments

Tony Wilks, Stourbridge, UK

I think I must have missed the part where Straw says-

"EDS will pay for this. The taxpayers will not foot this bill".

Did anyone see that bit?

R Bingham, Lauzun, France

Why could this end up costing the taxpayer millions of pounds? Maybe I am naive, but surely it is EDS the private contractor, who seem to have lost the disk, who are responsible and should pay any damages.

John F Priestman, Huddersfield, W Yorks

As a former IT Manager I am horrified at this incompetence. There is a clumsy culture that needs to be changed. I always tried to educate staff to treat data with the uptmost care. Infrastructure & software could be replaced but on no account should data be compromised.

Steve Marchant, Newton Abbot, UK

'We take these matters extremely seriously'
Has the government a dictionary? Do they understand the meaning of seriously?
Regretfully it can only get worse as this government slowly and finally sinks into oblivion.
What will replace it tho? More of the Same with the other lot.

Howard , Basildon, England

How much ineptitude and mismanagement do we have to put up with before a general election can be called?

Bill, Knaresborough,

Why is the government and similar large organisations allowing systems/users to put data on laptops, PCs and other uncontrolled storage media, have they not heard of networks!

The government is not to blame, incompetent IT staff and lack of policies are! Get competent IT management!

Mike, Reading, UK

Too late for Mr Straw to order 'an urgent inquiry into the circumstances and the implications of the data loss and the level of risk involved'.

He should have ordered an assessment of risk BEFORE the data was lost. One word: incompetent.

John Jenkins, York,

What Labour loosing personal details of there subjects, i refuse to listen to theese lies lies and damned lies.

nick, Corby, uk

In the interests of public safety and national security, this government must go.

Simon, Brentwood, UK