HMRC employees 'caught snooping'

More than 600 employees at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have been disciplined after they were caught viewing personal information.

Official figures revealed that 238 members of staff were disciplined in 2005, 180 in 2006 and 192 last year - representing around one per cent of HMRC employees.

Commenting on the revelation, Treasury minister Jane Kennedy said: "HMRC has a strict policy forbidding staff to access customer records unless they have a legitimate business need. In many cases the disciplinary penalty for breach is dismissal."

Computing.co.uk recently reported that 53 per cent of people had lost faith in the government's ability to look after their personal details.

Around 85 per cent of people say they are now reluctant to give out their personal information and avoid doing so where possible.