Public bodies are releasing confidential personal data by accident, activists say

Authorities including councils, government departments and the police breach data security - with many repeat offenders, says freedom of information group

Public bodies are unintentionally releasing confidential personal information on a regular basis, research reveals.

Freedom of information website WhatDoTheyKnow.com, which automates FOI requests and publishes responses, says it has recorded 154 accidental data leaks made by councils, government departments, police, the NHS and other public bodies since 2009. This amounts to confidential data being wrongly released on average once every fortnight.