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HM Revenue and Customs

My Lords, I sought to reply earlier on the question of the length of time. The noble Lord will recognise that two issues confronted the Chancellor as soon as he knew that this loss had occurred—first, that the intensity of the search for the missing discs should be stepped up. That is why he intensified the search and then brought in the Metropolitan Police in the hope that the discs would be recovered, which regrettably has not occurred, as yet. Secondly, he was obliged to make sure that the public were protected with regard to their accounts with financial institutions and the banks. The Chancellor needed the fullest possible co-operation from all sectors of the industry where this information related to individual accounts. He has had that full co-operation. That is why we can say with confidence, at this stage, that we know of no reported instance at all of untoward development as a consequence of this information. We also have every bank working on their customers’ behalf, operating the closest watch on personal accounts. If anything untoward occurs, the customer is made aware. That is not achieved overnight, but it was essential that it should be in place before the Statement to the House. The Chancellor has to balance the obligation to report to Parliament about an issue as serious as this as soon as he is able against effective and necessary action to safeguard the needs of the public.