No Richard Envy Here

Could Information Commissioner (IC) Richard Thomas be about to take formal action against HMRC and MoD for their recent data loss gaffs? Could the Data Protection Act have teeth after all? Will the UK support the EU’s draft ePrivacy Directive requiring electronic service providers to inform users of data protection breaches? Could hell be about to freeze over?

Pardon my cynicism, but whilst I applaud these actions (hell freezing excluded), I’m a tad disappointed by Sir Gus O’Donnell’s June 2008 report Data Handling Procedures in Government. This document is big on ‘motherhood’ statements like ‘reform’ and ‘building public confidence’ in the implementation of minimum rules for data handling by the Civil Service in the absence of any legal framework for imposing maximum penalties for those responsible for the egregious breaches of security which have grabbed headlines in recent months.

Richard, my heart goes out to you, mate. Swathed in red tape, I don’t envy your job in the slightest.