Torbay Care Trust has been issued a fine of £175,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), for a data leak.

The NHS Trust had published a spreadsheet on its website containing, date of births, National Insurance numbers and further details of 1,373 staff members.

The data had been originally published in April but the error was only revealed after 19 weeks. The ICO commented: “Not only were they giving sensitive information out about their employees but they were also leaving them exposed to the threat of identity fraud”.