Southport victims at centre of 'completely unacceptable' data breach

The victims, survivors and witnesses of the Southport stabbing attack had their records inappropriately breached by Ministry of Justice (MoJ) staff, it has been revealed. In some cases, the information accessed during the 2024 breach included sensitive and personal data, Sky News reports .

The Prime Minister was informed of the HM Courts breach in August and told the Lord Chancellor to launch an investigation, however families weren't told until this month, the outlet adds. Further investigations will be required to determine whether the Prison and Probation Service was also responsible for data breaches in this case, and there will be a review into the handling of the brief by the MoJ.

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An MoJ spokesperson said: "We are appalled this happened and recognise the distress it will have caused victims, survivors and their families. We apologise to those affected - unauthorised access to court files is completely unacceptable."

In May, a survivor of the Southport attack said she was "devastated and horrified" after it emerged hospital workers inappropriately accessed the medical records of victims.

Leanne Lucas, who was the instructor at the Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop targeted by Axel Rudakubana in July 2024, said staff have "abused their position".

Three girls – Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven – were murdered by Axel Rudakubana at The Hart Space, while 10 others were injured. Some of those injured were treated at University Hospitals of Liverpool Group.

An information access audit carried out by the trust in the days following the incident showed that 48 staff members accessed the victims' records without good reason, the HSJ reports.

This information was not given to the patients involved until this week. Ms Lucas, who now campaigns against knife crime, has waived her right to anonymity following the incident.

She said: "I am absolutely devastated and horrified that my privacy has been invaded when I was at my most vulnerable.

"Nothing will take away my gratitude to the staff who saved my life, but 48 people not involved in my care abused their position of trust to access the files of victims who have suffered unspeakable trauma.

"The decision to keep this from me for almost two years is a new low. I am speaking out as I want this scandal and the attempted cover-up by senior management exposed for what it is."