Civil servants across UK government departments lost or had stolen more than 7,300 electronic devices over the past three years, costing taxpayers almost £2.7 million.
Figures obtained under Freedom of Information laws show an average of 47 devices disappeared every week across Whitehall. Almost four in five of the items were simply mislaid by staff, while the remainder were stolen.
Out of the 7,312 gadgets that vanished, 4,317 were mobile phones and 2,791 were laptops. The remaining missing equipment comprised tablet computers and other devices.
The Freedom of Information Act allows members of the public to request recorded information held by public sector bodies in the United Kingdom. Whitehall departments employ thousands of civil servants who manage policy, administrative functions, and public services.
Department losses and data risks
The Home Office recorded the highest number of missing items, with 1,342 devices vanishing over the three-year period. These included 574 mobile phones and 699 laptops.
The Home Office oversees policing, border enforcement, passports, and immigration services. As a result, the department handles some of the most sensitive personal data held by the state.
The Department for Work and Pensions ranked second after losing 1,041 devices. The welfare department processes benefit claims and pension records for millions of citizens, storing personal financial information such as bank account details and National Insurance numbers.
The Ministry of Defence ranked third, having mislaid or lost to theft 876 laptops and mobile phones. Defence officials admitted that the department had no record of what the missing equipment cost taxpayers.
The Cabinet Office was fourth with 713 devices gone, followed by the Department for Business and Trade in fifth place with 642 missing phones and laptops.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport refused to confirm whether it holds figures on missing devices containing sensitive data. Department officials claimed that disclosing such details could help criminals identify which government departments are easiest to target.
The Treasury confirmed that its own missing devices contained sensitive information. However, officials insisted that every lost or stolen device was wiped remotely as soon as the loss was reported. Remote wiping technology enables system administrators to erase stored files over a network connection to prevent data breaches.
Taxpayer reaction and security measures
On Saturday night, William Yarwood, campaigns director of independent advocacy group The TaxPayers' Alliance, criticized Whitehall officials for failing to safeguard equipment.
"Whitehall's missing devices are a costly reminder of how casually officials can treat property paid for by taxpayers," Yarwood said.
"Losing thousands of phones and laptops would be bad enough in any organisation, but these departments handle some of the most sensitive data in Government," Yarwood added.
"Ministers must recover costs where staff are negligent, tighten reporting rules and make sure officials face consequences when taxpayer-funded kit vanishes."
A Government spokesperson defended security protocols, arguing that technical safeguards prevent unauthorized access when equipment goes missing.
"We take the security of Government devices extremely seriously, which is why items such as laptops and mobile phones are always encrypted so any loss does not compromise security," the spokesperson said.
"As is the case in all organisations, a very small proportion of such devices can be reported lost or stolen every year."
Data encryption scrambles digital files so that they cannot be read without an authorization key, while standard UK civil service protocols require prompt reporting of any missing equipment.
