What more can you say? That’s a cock up involving almost half the UK population’s confidential financial details. The names, children’s names, addresses, national insurance numbers and bank details of 25 million people not just compromised, but lost without a trace.

Christ alive… That takes some kind of genuine, extra-special genius.

Just how crap is this country? Can’t we do anything competently any more?

Update: On a related note, I forgot, from earlier –

GPs’ fears over medical records database: “Six out of 10 family doctors are reluctant to upload patients’ medical records on to a national electronic database… GPs said they feared medical records would not remain confidential if they were put on to the database”

MoD system: ‘unmitigated disaster’: “It’s behind schedule; there are claims that much of it doesn’t work and there are questions too over whether the tax-payer is getting value for money”

And, most entertainingly considering the government’s latest cock-up – GPs to face £5,000 fine if laptop stolen: “GPs face the prospect of being fined up to £5,000 if their laptops containing confidential patient care records are stolen from their vehicles… Leaving laptops with patient data in their cars was tantamount to breaking data protection principles and should attract criminal punishment, an influential parliamentary body was told”