§ Mr. Huckfieldasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now carry out an urgent investigation into the events leading to the discovery of 100 cassette recordings and 16 tape recorders containing confidential and personal information on the tax affairs of individuals and companies in the West Midlands and the West country in a Warwickshire scrapyard, apparently originating from Inland Revenue offices in Solihull; and whether he will now make an interim statement.
§ Mr. Peter Rees[pursuant to his reply, 16 March 1981, c. 24]: A full investigation into the events referred to by the hon. Member has been carried out urgently by the Inland Revenue. The equipment, which was obsolete, was disposed of in accordance with normal policy, but regrettably the proper steps were not taken to ensure that the cassette recordings had been cleared of past dictation. However, all of the tapes which were sold have now either been recovered by the Inland Revenue or are the subject of an assurance from the purchaser that they have been destroyed.
The Inland Revenue deeply regrets the error that led to the uncleared tapes being disposed of. Urgent action is being taken to prevent this happening again.