A new warning system has been launched to monitor donated blood as fears grow of newly emerging viruses potentially reaching the UK.
Health experts fear some diseases that are not currently present in the UK could pose a threat in the future due to climate change.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) researchers will examine samples taken from blood donors for tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), West Nile virus and Usutu virus.
No human cases of Usutu or West Nile viruses contracted in the UK have been identified.
But Usutu has been found in birds in the UK and mosquitos that can spread West Nile virus have been recently detected in the south of England.
TBEV has been found in a small number of ticks in the UK, and four cases of TBEV infection that were likely acquired via a tick bite in the UK, have been reported so far.
Read more from Sky News: Using the internet may help older people’s mental health King Richard III given Yorkshire accent
Heli Harvala, consultant medical virologist for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “This targeted sampling of donors provides a response capability in the event of future infectious disease threats to blood safety arising from climate change.”
Dr Amanda Semper, from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: “This new programme will help deepen our surveillance, acting as an early warning of infections for when they do arrive here, further strengthening our ability to detect them early.”
Initially, the new project will see 5,000 blood samples taken from consenting blood donors over the next few months.
These samples will be analysed for viruses alongside the donor’s travel history, potential exposure to infection and their vaccinations.
The “Codonet” blood sample archive will be held by NHSBT at its Oxford blood centre and will link with UKHSA surveillance programmes, which monitor the spread of these infections in the general population.
To find out more about blood donation visit blood.co.uk or the GiveBloodNHS app or call 0300 123 23 23.
Exercising at the weekends only may be just as beneficial for slowing mental decline as working out throughout the week, researchers have said.
A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that exercising on just one or two days was more effective at reducing the risk of mild dementia than more regular workouts.
It adds to a growing body of evidence that it is not when you exercise, but the fact you are doing it, that improves health.
A separate study published last month found that being a weekend exercise “warrior” cuts the risk of developing more than 200 diseases ranging from high blood pressure and diabetes to mood disorders and kidney disease.
The latest study concluded: “The weekend warrior physical activity pattern may be a more convenient option for busy people around the world.”
Researchers found that the risk of mild dementia was reduced by an average of 15% in the “weekend warriors” who exercised once or twice per week and by 10% in the “regularly active” who exercised more often.
After taking account of factors that might influence the results, such as age, smoking, sleep duration, diet and alcohol intake, the researchers suggested both exercise patterns had similar effects.
“We found that around 10% of [mild dementia] cases would be eliminated if all middle-aged adults were to take part in sport or exercise once or twice per week or more often,” they said.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first prospective cohort study to show that the weekend warrior physical activity pattern is associated with reduced risk of mild dementia.”
Academics from Colombia, Chile and Glasgow examined two sets of survey data from the Mexico City Prospective Study for the latest research.
Read more: Southport stabbings suspect faces terror charge Avoid Halloween horror of tooth decay, surgeons say Why budget will be a difficult sell for Reeves
Some 10,033 people with an average age of 51 completed both surveys.
The authors suggested several possible explanations for why exercise may protect the brain.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Tap here
“Exercise may increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor concentrations [molecules that support the growth and survival of neurons] and brain plasticity,” they said.
“Physical activity is also associated with greater brain volume, greater executive function and greater memory.”
A second study in the same journal also found that exercise of any intensity is linked to a 30% lower risk of death from any cause after a diagnosis of dementia.
Those researchers said people affected should be encouraged to keep up or start an exercise routine, especially as the average life expectancy after a diagnosis of dementia may be only about four to five years.
Labour could be on course to win a historic landslide, with the party expected to win a 194-seat majority, a YouGov poll shows.
It would be the highest number of seats of any party at any election since Stanley Baldwin won a majority of 208 in 1924.
Sky News has partnered with YouGov for the campaign and today we publish the first of their three polling projections, known as MRPs, which suggests the United Kingdom is on the cusp of a major redrawing of the political landscape.
The projection shows a historic Labour landslide, bigger than Tony Blair achieved in 1997.
It also projects a Tory wipeout in large parts of the country, a Lib Dem surge and the Scottish National Party losing over half its seats in Scotland, if the election were being held right now.
Election latest: Farage announces he will stand
The poll has Labour on 422 seats, up 222 compared to the 2019 results based on new constituency boundaries. This is the highest number of Labour seats on record, and a much bigger majority than anything else since the Second World War.
A 194 majority for Starmer would dwarf Mr Blair’s 1997 landslide majority of 179 and that of Margaret Thatcher, who got 144 in 1983.
The Conservatives would plummet to 140 seats, down 232 – as they face a near wipeout in London, the North East, the North West and Wales. This is the lowest since 1906 when they won 131 seats. This means the party retreats predominantly to the South East, South West and East Anglia.
This projection gives the Tories significantly fewer seats than the previous lowest number of Tory seats in British post-war history: 165 in 1997.
The Lib Dems would get 48 seats according to this projection, up 40 on 2019, quadrupling their seats and far higher than Lib Dem pollsters were predicting last year. This would mean Ed Davey’s party does not break records but takes them back to their previous levels of success under Lord Ashdown, who got 46 seats in 1997 and 62 under Charles Kennedy.
The SNP would get 17 of 57 seats in Scotland in this projection and down 31 seats on the notional 2019 results. This is the nationalist party’s lowest score this decade and well down from the peak of 56 out of 59 seats in 2015.
YouGov’s polling projection is based on interviews with 53,334 people in England and Wales and 5,541 in Scotland, with data collected between 24 May and 1 June.
This projection, which models how each individual constituency would vote, implies the following vote shares: Con 24.5%, Lab 42.9%, Lib Dem 10.6%, Reform 10.1%, Green 6.7%, SNP 2.8%, Plaid 0.7%, Others 1.7%.
Read more on the election: General Election poll tracker Warning over risk of audio deepfakes that could derail election Tories could tumble but there’s no mad enthusiasm for Labour
The scale of the rout under this projection means many of the Tories’ biggest cabinet figures are now under threat in this campaign.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, Penny Mordaunt, the Commons leader, Victoria Prentis, the attorney general, Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, David TC Davies, the Welsh secretary and Johnny Mercer, the armed forces minister in the cabinet are all on course to lose their seats under this projection.
Twelve of the 26 members of the cabinet who are running for re-election are at risk in total.
In addition, the future of Steve Baker, Northern Ireland minister, Bim Afolami, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, and housing minister Lee Rowley are all hanging in the balance, the projection suggests.
Twenty-two of the 45 ministers of the government confirmed to stand are at risk.
One member of Labour’s shadow cabinet is also at risk under this projection. The shadow culture secretary Thangham Debonnaire is fighting the Greens in her Bristol Central seat: YouGov says this seat is in the balance.
As AI deepfakes cause havoc during other elections, experts warn the UK’s politicians should be prepared.
“Just tell me what you had for breakfast”, says Mike Narouei, of ControlAI, recording on his laptop. I speak for around 15 seconds, about my toast, coffee and journey to their offices.
Within seconds, I hear my own voice, saying something entirely different.
Follow the latest updates on the election
In this case, words I have written: “Deepfakes can be extremely realistic and have the ability to disrupt our politics and damage our trust in the democratic process.”
Image: Tamara Cohen’s voice being turned into a deepfake
We have used free software, it hasn’t taken any advanced technical skills, and the whole thing has taken next to no time at all.
This is an audio deepfake – video ones take more effort to produce – and as well as being deployed by scammers of all kinds, there is deep concern, in a year with some two billion people going to the polls, in the US, India and dozens of other countries including the UK, about their impact on elections.
More on Artificial Intelligence
Sir Keir Starmer fell victim to one at last year’s Labour Party conference, purportedly of him swearing at staff. It was quickly outed as a fake. The identity of who made it has never been uncovered.
London mayor Sadiq Khan was also targeted this year, with fake audio of him making inflammatory remarks about Remembrance weekend and calling for pro-Palestine marches going viral at a tense time for communities. He claimed new laws were needed to stop them.
Ciaran Martin, the former director of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, told Sky News that expensively made video fakes can be less effective and easier to debunk than audio.
“I’m particularly worried right now about audio, because audio deepfakes are spectacularly easy to make, disturbingly easy”, he said. “And if they’re cleverly deployed, they can have an impact.”
Those which have been most damaging, in his view, are an audio deepfake of President Biden, sent to voters during the New Hampshire primaries in January this year.
A “robocall” with the president’s voice told voters to stay at home and “save” their votes for the presidential election in November. A political consultant later claimed responsibility and has been indicted and fined $6m (£4.7m).
Read more: The digital election in India Time running out for regulators to tackle AI threat Biden to unveil sweeping AI regulations
Image: Ciaran Martin, the former NCSC director
Mr Martin, now a professor at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University, said: “It was a very credible imitation of his voice and anecdotal evidence suggests some people were tricked by that.
“Not least because it wasn’t an email they could forward to someone else to have a look at, or on TV where lots of people were watching. It was a call to their home which they more or less had to judge alone.
“Targeted audio, in particular, is probably the biggest threat right now, and there’s no blanket solution, there’s no button there that you can just press and make this problem go away if you are prepared to pay for it or pass the right laws.
“What you need, and the US did this very well in 2020, is a series of responsible and well-informed eyes and ears throughout different parts of the electoral system to limit and mitigate the damage.”
He says there is a risk to hyping up the threat of deepfakes, when they have not yet caused mass electoral damage.
A Russian-made fake broadcast of Ukrainian TV, he said, featuring a Ukrainian official taking responsibility for a terrorist attack in Moscow, was simply “not believed”, despite being expensively produced.
The UK government has passed a National Security Act with new offences of foreign interference in the country’s democratic processes.
The Online Safety Act requires tech companies to take such content down, and meetings are being regularly held with social media companies during the pre-election period.
Democracy campaigners are concerned that deepfakes could be used not just by hostile foreign actors, or lone individuals who want to disrupt the process – but political parties themselves.
Polly Curtis is chief executive of the thinktank Demos, which has called on the parties to agree to a set of guidelines for the use of AI.
Image: Polly Curtis, the chief executive of Demos
She said: “The risk is that you’ll have foreign actors, you’ll have political parties, you’ll have ordinary people on the street creating content and just stirring the pot of what’s true and what’s not true.
“We want them to come together and agree together how they’re going to use these tools at the election. We want them to agree not to create generative AI or amplify it, and label it when it is used.
“This technology is so new, and there are so many elections going on, there could be a big misinformation event in an election campaign that starts to affect people’s trust in the information they’ve got.”
Deepfakes have already been targeted at major elections.
Last year, within hours before polls closed in the Slovakian presidential election, an audio fake of one of the candidates claiming to have rigged the election went viral. He was heavily defeated and his pro-Russian opponent won.
The UK government established a Joint Election Security Preparations Unit earlier this year – with Whitehall officials working with police and security agencies – to respond to threats as they emerge.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Tap here
A UK government spokesperson said: “Security is paramount and we are well-prepared to ensure the integrity of the election with robust systems in place to protect against any potential interference.
“The National Security Act contains tools to tackle deepfake election threats and social media platforms should also proactively take action against state-sponsored content aimed at interfering with the election.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “Our democracy is strong, and we cannot and will not allow any attempts to undermine the integrity of our elections.
“However, the rapid pace of AI technology means that government must now always be one step ahead of malign actors intent on using deepfakes and disinformation to undermine trust in our democratic system.
“Labour will be relentless in countering these threats.”
A pandemic property boom and the rise of short-term holiday stays in some of Britain’s prettiest coastal towns is now at risk at pricing locals out of the countryside.
When Emma Dee Hookway struggled to find a place for her family in Braunton, where she had lived most of her life, she set up a Facebook page to see if others were in the same boat and received hundreds of replies.
Two years later and now a housing activist in North Devon, she says things have only gotten a lot worse.
Image: Emma Dee Hookway
The pandemic has caused a reappraisal of city living, as well as a newfound appreciation for Britain’s seaside towns.
It’s a potent mix that has caused short-term holiday stays to soar, and that sudden demand has pushed up the average cost of housing in coastal areas of Devon beyond what some locals are able to pay.
Landlords can often get more money renting short-term than to locals all year round.
Ms Hookway says she doesn’t begrudge landlords because they are only making sound financial choices, but says the housing stock has depleted as a result.
It’s not a small problem.
Matt Dodd, from the Devon Housing Commission, said they’ve seen an increase of short-term holiday stays increase by 35% in two years. That’s led to 50% fewer homes available on the private rental market across the county.
In North Devon, the number of properties switching from long-term to short-term letting is as high as 67%.
The government is consulting on a new registration scheme for short-term lets that it says will provide local authorities with data to help them to identify the impact of high numbers of short-term lets.
It is also looking into new powers to require a planning application for short-term let conversions and say they will report their findings “in due course”.
But Simon Jupp, the Conservative MP for East Devon, says he wants to see the government move faster in this area.
Read more UK news: Police investigate Horizon IT scandal HMRC criticised over Luke Littler tax joke Kate Garraway’s husband dies aged 56
Image: Simon Jupp, Conservative MP for East Devon
The ‘Sea Wall’ and the election
For coastal regions, housing is shaping up to play a major role in an upcoming general election.
Research by the Fabian Society shows that 108 constituencies in England and Wales that contain at least one coastal town would like an ambitious housing policy, focused on tackling the real challenges faced by coastal communities.
Though the boundaries will change slightly at the next election, the research shows “Sea Wall” voters tend to favour more housebuilding and investments – especially in social housing.
New research exclusively shown to Sky News found 67% of those living in the Sea Wall support a “large increase in the amount of new social housing being built in Britain”, compared with 23% opposed.
When asked how easy it should be to obtain planning permission for affordable housebuilding on open areas surrounding towns and cities where the building of new homes is currently prohibited or restricted (such as the green belt), 49% of those living in the Sea Wall said they would support planning permission in certain circumstances, while 14% said it should almost always be given.
Some 65% of those living in the Sea Wall also thought their local area received less than its fair share of government money. Only 1% said it received more than its fair share.
Most of these coastal areas are currently Conservative strongholds – but according to the research, the party is at risk of losing some of its majorities over this issue.
The dearth of long-term rentals – coupled with pre-existing pressures on social housing – could play a part in a potential sea change election.
Phillip Schofield “reluctantly declined” to participate in an external review following his departure from ITV because of the “risk to his health”.
The presenter quit This Morning – which he had hosted for more than 20 years – after admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” relationship with a younger male colleague, who also refused to participate in the review.
Schofield admitted lying about the affair and was dropped by his talent agency, YMU.
The review, published today, has found ITV’s management “made considerable efforts to determine the truth”.
But in the “face of the denials of the individuals involved, ITV was unable to uncover the relevant evidence”, it added.
Jane Mulcahy KC, who led the inquiry, said it was “clear” that Phillip Schofield’s “patronage” assisted his younger colleague in the “early days of his time at ITV”.
Beyond that, however, he appeared to have “made his way on his own”.
Of 48 people interviewed by Ms Mulcahy, only one reported any knowledge of the affair – a former junior member of staff, the barrister said.
They did not report their knowledge at the time, Ms Mulcahy added, and “nor did others report suspicions from much earlier in 2017”.
In a letter in August, Schofield’s lawyer said the presenter “reluctantly declined” to participate in the review because of the “risk to his health”, adding that his “mental health has since deteriorated”.
Image: Holly Willoughby has also left This Morning
Regarding the young man with whom Schofield had an affair, a letter from his lawyers said he “wanted to move on with his life and was not prepared to assist with this review”, Ms Mulcahy said.
Because it was not a statutory inquiry, the KC had “no power to compel people to cooperate” and all who did so spoke on a voluntarily basis.
A number of them had questions or concerns about confidentiality, she added.
Those spoken to included people in senior and junior positions, current and former staff, people on air and those managing “on-screen talent”.
Image: ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall
Ms Mulcahy is now emphasizing the “importance of junior employees at ITV having the confidence to raise concerns to management in line with ITV’s ‘Speaking Up’ policy”.
She added: “I have no doubt that senior management are absolutely wedded to the importance of an open culture.
“But this culture is still not filtering down to junior employees, many of whom remain convinced that to speak out will have a detrimental impact on their careers.”
Her report recommends increasing efforts to ensure staff can raise concerns. It also recommends publishing a talent “charter”, setting out key standards to be upheld.
The external review was announced by ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall in May.
Its remit was to carry out an external review of the facts following Schofield’s departure from the broadcaster.
ITV said it had investigated “rumours of a relationship” between Schofield and a younger employee – but the pair “repeatedly denied” the affair.
Read more: Timeline of ITV departure after colleague affair Schofield’s statement as he stepped down – and Holly’s response Presenter dropped as ambassador for The Prince’s Trust
Schofield had originally said he was leaving This Morning because he had “become the story” following rumours of a rift between him and co-presenter Holly Willoughby – who quit the show herself in October.
He joined the show as a presenter in 2002 and first presented it together with Willoughby in 2009.
Christmas dinners could be in jeopardy with storms causing havoc for farmers struggling with one of the toughest harvests on record.
Britain’s latest potato crop is predicted to hit a record low of 4.1 million tonnes with retailers forced to supplement supplies from cold storage, experts say.
Shoppers can also expect empty shelves after the harvests of broccoli and cauliflower were badly affected.
Supplies of Christmas cornerstones sprouts and parsnips have also suffered but are expected to recover enough to reach plates on 25 December.
Unprecedented rainfall, almost double the average for October, including Storms Agnes, Babet and Ciaran have meant waterlogged farms have struggled to produce enough vegetables for the festive rush.
Fred Searle, editor of Fresh Produce Journal, said: “The British potato harvest has been hit hard by heavy rain and flooding in recent weeks, causing delayed lifting and large crop losses. This was preceded by a cold, wet spring and a cool summer with low light levels.
“With the potatoes that are in store there’s likely to be enough supply to meet demand for the time being, but that might not be the case in the months ahead.”
Lincolnshire grower Martin Tate, who manages 18,000 acres in the county, said: “There won’t be enough broccoli to supply the Christmas dinner demand.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:45
‘A third to cut back on Christmas spending’
“Cauliflower is still a problem, and you can expect to see empty trays over the next few weeks but may return to normal before Christmas. After some initial issues, brussels sprouts supplies look like they will be okay.”
Experts said that chips will not be affected as those potatoes used for chipping are mostly grown in Belgium.
Earlier this month, T H Clements, one of the country’s largest suppliers of Brussels sprouts with 11,000 acres in Lincolnshire and 1,000 in Cornwall, warned that sprouts would be smaller this year than average.
CEO Chris Gedney told BBC’s Farming Today: “Brussels sprouts are likely to be smaller this year as the larger ones tend to fall in the water and rot.”
A major incident has been declared in Bristol as residents in a tower block have been told to leave their homes “immediately” due to a “risk to the structure”.
The city council has asked all tenants at Barton House, in the Redfield area, to leave “as a precautionary measure” while more in-depth inspections are carried out.
About 400 people reportedly live in the building.
Surveys at three of the 98 flats found there is a “risk to the structure of the block” in the event of a fire, explosion or large impact.
Anyone who can stay with relatives or friends is being urged to do so, while the remainder will be housed in a temporary rest centre at the Tawfiq Masjid and Centre mosque where beds, food and drink will be available.
More rest centres are “in the process” of being set up, but it is not known how long residents will have to be away from their homes.
A council statement said: “The length of this temporary arrangement is dependent on a further survey of the building, which is being arranged to happen as soon as possible.
“All tenants will be kept regularly informed of progress and any updates on support arrangements.”
The council also said there is “no evidence” to “suggest there is any immediate risk to health and life”.
The statement added that Barton House is the oldest of the tower blocks in the council housing estate, with building work completed in 1958.
“The design and age of Barton House make it unique within the council’s housing estate. There is currently no evidence to suggest the issues identified within Barton House are present elsewhere, although the council is regularly surveying its estate as it works to meet all regulatory requirements,” it said.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
The coroner investigating the death of Nottingham Panthers player Adam Johnson has said neck guards should be mandatory.
Sheffield’s senior coroner Tanyka Rawden opened the inquest into the death of Mr Johnson on Friday after he was hit in the neck by the skate of a member of the opposing Sheffield Steelers team at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena.
Her report, addressed to Ice Hockey UK and the English Ice Hockey Association (EIHA), says: “During the course of the investigation my inquiries revealed matters giving rise to concern.
“In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken. In the circumstances it is my statutory duty to report to you.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:43
Vigil held for hockey star Adam Johnson
Ms Rawden outlined the “matters of concern” as: “The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) recommends that neck guards or protectors are worn, but there is no requirement for ice hockey players over the age of 18 to wear equipment designed to protect the neck.
“In due course the inquest will consider whether the use of a neck guard or protector could have prevented Mr Johnson’s death.
“At this stage in my investigation however, I am sufficiently concerned that deaths may occur in the future if neck guards or protectors are not worn.”
The death of the 29-year-old American shocked the hockey world, especially because the incident happened in front of 8,000 fans, including many children.
According to the Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) Report: “During the game Mr Johnson sustained an incised wound to the neck caused by the skate of another player.
“He was taken by ambulance to the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield where he died as a result of his injury.”
The report requires the governing body to respond within 56 days and adds: “Your response must contain details of action taken or proposed to be taken, setting out the timetable for action.
“Otherwise, you must explain why no action is proposed.”
Read more: Family describe watching moment Johnson was fatally injured Girlfriend pays tribute to ice hockey player Teammate hits out at ‘terrible’ abuse of opposition player
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:35
Ice hockey player dies during game
Elite Ice Hockey League will not make neck guards mandatory
It is highly unusual for a coroner to issue a PFD report so early in an inquest. They are usually produced after a full inquest is concluded and Ms Rawden made it clear on Friday the hearing will not take place for many months.
South Yorkshire Police are also continuing to investigate the incident.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:21
‘He was such a kind soul’
The Elite Ice Hockey League has said it will not make the use of neck guards mandatory but will “strongly encourage” players and officials to wear them following the tragedy.
Last week, the English Ice Hockey Association (EIHA) said neck guards will become mandatory from 2024, but the Elite League is not under its control.
Ice hockey fans paid tribute to Mr Johnson at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena on Saturday, with many supporters in tears as they signed books of condolence.
Domestic abuse victims have been put at risk after data breaches meant their locations were disclosed to their alleged abusers, the UK Information Commissioner has said.
The breaches have taken place at organisations including a law firm, a housing association, an NHS trust, a police service, a government department and local councils.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued reprimands to seven organisations for data breaches affecting domestic abuse victims since June 2022, with four of those cases related to inappropriate disclosure of the victim’s safe address to alleged perpetrators.
In one case, a family had to be immediately moved to emergency accommodation.
In another, an organisation gave the home address of two adopted children to their birth father, who was in prison on three counts of raping their mother.
Organisations had also revealed the identities of women seeking information about their partners to those partners.
There was also a breach in which an unredacted assessment report about children at risk of harm was sent to their mother’s ex-partners.
The people they trusted exposed them to further risk
John Edwards, the UK Information Commissioner, has called on organisations to handle personal information properly to avoid putting vulnerable people at further risk.
Mr Edwards said: “These families reached out for help to escape unimaginable violence, to protect them from harm and to seek support to move forward from dangerous situations. But the very people that they trusted to help, exposed them to further risk.”
He called on organisations to handle personal information properly and stressed that “getting the basics right is simple” through training, double checking records and contact details and restricting access to information.
A lack of staff training and failing to have robust procedures in place to handle personal information safely were among the various reasons for the breaches.
Mr Edwards continued: “This is a pattern that must stop. Organisations should be doing everything necessary to protect the personal information in their care.
“The reprimands issued in the past year make clear that mistakes were made and that organisations must resolve the issues that lead to these breaches in the first place.”
He added: “Protecting the information rights of victims of domestic abuse is a priority area for my office, and we will be providing further support and advice to help keep people safe.”
Read more: Domestic abuse victim shares image of ‘horrific’ injuries Domestic abusers to be tagged after leaving prison
‘A data breach can be a matter of life or death’
Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, said: “It takes a huge amount of bravery for victims and survivors of domestic abuse to come forward, and many go to extreme lengths to protect themselves from the perpetrator. To then be exposed to further harm due to poor data handling is a serious setback.
“That seven organisations have breached victims’ data in the past two years, with some sharing their address with the perpetrator, is extremely dangerous. For victims of domestic abuse, a data breach can be a matter of life or death.”
Kelly Andrews, the chief executive of Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid, said: “In the most serious cases lives are at risk.
“We encourage organisations to read the guidance and ensure staff are trained in handling confidential and sensitive data to better protect victims and prevent further harm.”
The ICO revised its approach to public sector enforcement last year. It aims to reduce the impact of fines on the public by working more closely with the public sector, encouraging compliance with data protection law to prevent harms before they happen.
The reprimands give instructions to the organisations on how to improve their data protection practices.
