Private eye made to pay £1,200 over data abuse

A private detective has been made to pay £1,200 in costs and given a one-year conditional discharge by magistrates in Croydon after pleading guilty to unlawfully disclosing someone's bank account details.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) prosecuted David Sibley of Kent under Section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998, after he relayed the personal data back to a solicitor firm.

According to the ICO, Sibley was instructed to obtain data on the unnamed individual who was making an insurance claim.

The ICO said he disclosed the victim's bank balance after some shady calls were made by "third parties" to the victim's bank and elderly mother. The banks have confirmed they received phone calls but it is still unclear who made them.

Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, said in a statement: "Many different people and organisations hold this sort of information about us and we have a right to feel safe and secure that the data is controlled properly and is not used for purposes other than those for which we intended.

"Today's prosecution shows that the Data Protection Act is there to ensure that individuals' personal information is secure."

The Devon and Cornwall Constabulary initially investigated the offences, which occurred in 2003, and later passed the case on to the ICO as a data protection offence.