Police look for 400,000 records wiped out in IT blunder

Labour has demanded that Priti Patel give a full account of how the failure occurred
Labour has demanded that Priti Patel give a full account of how the failure occurred
LEON NEAL/PA

More than 400,000 fingerprint, DNA, arrest and offence records may have vanished from police databases following a technology blunder, The Times has learnt.

A letter to chief constables yesterday revealed that a software error that deleted crucial evidence from the Police National Computer [PNC] could be worse than first thought.

The arrest records were accidentally deleted during a weekly “weeding” session to expunge data from the national computer, which is owned and operated by the Home Office. DNA and fingerprint records were also removed because the databases holding them were connected to the PNC.

Officials are trying to retrieve the data. The government said the loss did not present a danger to the public.

However, a letter to police chiefs and police and crime commissioners