Data loss boss got £137k for resignation

The HMRC data loss scandel crippled govt claims of competance

Tuesday, 15, Jul 2008 09:33

The former chairman of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) who resigned following the loss of 25 million people's personal data received a lump sum pay-off of £137,591 when he resigned, it has been revealed.

The money comes on top of a £120,000 salary and a pension pot worth £2 million.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "This is disgraceful - HMRC let down millions of people by losing their private information.

"There's no way that the man who oversaw this chaos should be being rewarded with such a generous severance package."

The information was discovered in HMRC's 2007/08 accounts, which were published yesterday.

They show his total cash payments from April 2007 to August 2008 hitting £306,883, on top of the £2,021,000 pension pot.

Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond said the payment would provoke outrage among those whose data had been lost.

"When someone leaves a post because they have presided over a catastrophic failure, it beggars belief that they should pocket a golden goodbye of this magnitude," he said.

"If you can get £137,000 for losing 25 million people's data, what do you have to do to get nothing?"

The loss of two computer discs carrying the personal information of millions of Britons who receive child credits shocked the country and led to gasps in the House of Commons when it was announced by chancellor Alistair Darling.

It was just the first of a series of government blunders which have cast doubt on the government's ability to run its ID cards scheme.