Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

UK Treasury admits to wiping data from over 100 department phones after officials made mistakes entering PIN codes

UK Treasury admits to wiping data from over 100 department phones after officials made mistakes entering PIN codes

Sensitive data from over 100 UK Treasury phones, including text messages related to the Greensill lobbying scandal involving former Prime Minister David Cameron, was deleted after officials apparently entered incorrect pins.
The department’s IT team had to reset some 117 of its roughly 2,100 government-issued mobile phones last year – including the work phone of its Permanent Secretary Tom Scholar, according to the Treasury’s response to a Freedom of Information request from the PA news agency.

The revelations are expected to add to criticism of the government’s transparency mechanisms, which have been attacked in recent weeks after it emerged that senior officials may have used personal email accounts to conduct government business.

Last week, the information commissioner launched an investigation into all private correspondence accounts used by ministers after concerns were raised about Junior Health Minister James Bethell’s use of personal emails for official work. Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock is also alleged to have done the same.

Scholar’s phone records gained prominence after it emerged that between March and June last year Cameron had messaged ministers, including Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, and government officials to lobby for the now-defunct financial company Greensill Capital.

The former PM, who was employed by the company, disclosed that he had sent nine WhatsApp messages to Sunak, and 12 texts to Scholar and other Cabinet and Treasury ministers, to allow Greensill access to the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) government scheme set up to help businesses offset pandemic losses.

Although its proposal was eventually rejected, questions were raised about what had been said between Cameron and officials.

In May, Scholar told a parliamentary committee that he was unable to divulge communications he had with Cameron – under whom he had served as chief of staff at Downing Street prior to taking the Treasury post – because his phone had been wiped during a reset in June 2020.

“It had to be reset because, under government security as applies to mobile phones, if the password is incorrectly entered more than a few times, the phone is locked, and the only way to unlock it is to reset it,” Scholar said at the hearing.

“Resetting it means that the data on it is lost. I knew that when it happened last June, and I am certainly not the only person to whom that has happened,” he added.

Scholar also referred to two exchanges with Cameron: one about a “possible leak of the Greensill approach to the Treasury,” and another where “Cameron told me that they had a specific proposal to put to us.”

In each case, he claimed to have “made sure that anything that needed to be recorded for the official record was recorded, and that was not lost when the phone was reset.”

After a committee member said there was a “public interest” in publishing his replies, Scholar noted that if Cameron had copies of his responses, disclosure of these would be “governed by the Freedom of Information Act,” since these messages were “official government business” as they were “generated by me on an official government device” in the course of his work.

Another parliamentary inquiry into the lobbying scandal had questioned whether Scholar’s previous ties with Cameron were why he and the Treasury had spent so much time discussing what one committee member referred to as a “Ponzi scheme.”

Appearing before a House of Commons public accounts committee in April, Scholar said it was “quite natural” to talk to a “former minister I’ve worked with.” Describing Cameron as “persistent,” Scholar said he had met the ex-PM two or three times since he had stepped down from office, but “never to discuss Government business.”

He also claimed not to have had a “substantive discussion” of Greensill’s proposal with Cameron over the phone and to not have known Cameron worked for the company before receiving a letter from them about the proposal in March 2020.

“In terms of the actual discussions with the company over their application to the CCFF ... I just joined one phone call – I think it was less than half an hour – and that was the entirety of my involvement in it,” Scholar said, adding that he had “no further engagement” with Cameron after April 2020.

The public accounts committee is currently accepting evidence for the inquiry, which is scheduled to hold its next meeting on July 22. Scholar and other Treasury officials are again expected to attend.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
×