HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has lost computer discs listing confidential details such as names, National Insurance Contribution (NIC) numbers, dates of birth and pension policy details on thousands of taxpayers,

According to The Daily Telegraph, between 20 and 30 discs went missing on their way to Standard Life's pensions department which reported a large number of discs left HMRC in Newcastle for various insurers, ‘but the courier delivered to everybody else except us’.

Those affected are taxpayers who have contracted out of the State Second Pension (S2P), formerly the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (Serps), and therefore have some of their NICs rebated by HMRC to the pension providers of their choice.

An HMRC spokesman said there was no evidence of any fraud but a thorough search had been conducted for the items, which went missing at the end of September. Seven months earlier Nationwide Building Society was fined £980,000 after a laptop containing customer information was stolen from an employee's home.

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