PSNI investigating further data breach with theft of documents naming more than 200 officers and staff as Chief Constable cuts short family holiday

The documents, along with a police issue laptop and radio, are believed to have been stolen from a private vehicle in Newtownabbey, north of Belfast, on July 6. It comes after the PSNI apologised for compromising the data of all 10,000 of their officers and staff in a data breach that revealed their rank, surname, initial, location and departments online for up to to three hours.

The PSNI said in a statement that they are treating the issue "extremely seriously". "Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the theft of documents, including a spreadsheet containing the names of over 200 serving officers and staff," Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd said.

"The documents, along with a police issue laptop and radio, were believed to have been stolen from a private vehicle in the Newtownabbey area on July 6. "We have contacted the officers and staff concerned to make them aware of the incident and an initial notification has been made to the office of the Information Commissioner regarding the data breach. "This is an issue we take extremely seriously and as our investigation continues we will keep the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Information Commissioner's Office updated."

Meanwhile Northern Ireland’s Chief Constable Simon Byrne is to cut short a family holiday to face questions over a significant data breach. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) apologised on Tuesday after it emerged that some 10,000 officers and staff were affected.

The incident happened when the PSNI responded to a Freedom of Information request seeking the number of officers and staff of all ranks and grades across the organisation. In the published response to this request a table was embedded which contained the rank and grade data, but also included detailed information that attached the surname, initial, location and departments for all PSNI employees.

The data was potentially visible to the public for between two-and-a-half to three hours. A representative body for officers said they have been left “shocked, dismayed and basically angry” by the breach.