The home and work addresses of more than 1,000 people named on the New Year’s honours list have been published in error by the government.
A spreadsheet containing the personal details of hundreds of individuals – including high-profile politicians and senior government staff, as well as sports stars and celebrities – was accidentally posted alongside the official list, The Guardian reported.
The file has since been removed, however is believed to have been available to members of the public for 90 minutes on Friday.
A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office confirmed the breach, in which addresses had been published “in error”, and said the information “was removed as soon as possible”.
Amongst the addressed were those of Elton John, cricketer Ben Stokes, the former director of public prosecutions Alison Saunders, and TV chef Nadiya Hussain
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said:“We apologise to all those affected and are looking into how this happened.
“We have reported the matter to the ICO [Information Commissioner’s Office] and are contacting all those affected directly.”
A spokesperson for the ICO said the organisation would be “making enquiries” in response “to reports of a data breach.”