14,000 NI names on stolen laptop

The laptop was stolen from a Royal Navy officer

The names of more than 14,223 people resident in Northern Ireland were contained on a Ministry of Defence laptop recently stolen in England.

The figure has been revealed in a parliamentary answer to the Scottish National Party.

The laptop contained in total the details of more than 600,000 people interested in joining the armed forces.

It was taken from a Royal Navy officer in Birmingham on 9 January.

The computer also had the personal details of almost 60,000 Scots stored on it, in Wales, the details of 37,546 people were lost, in England, 459,778 were affected, and 34,667 people from elsewhere.

It is the latest high-profile data security breach to affect people in Northern Ireland in recent months.

In December, the Driver and Vehicle Agency in Northern Ireland lost the personal details of 6,000 people.

The data was on two discs and went missing after being sent to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency headquarters in Swansea.