Data loss exposes teachers' records

The General Teaching Council has lost the records of over 10,000 teachers

The General Teaching Council (GTC) is the latest organisation to become embroiled in a data loss scandal, after admitting today that it lost the records of over 10,000 teachers.

In a statement the GTC said the registration forms of 11,423 teachers went missing after a disk containing the records was lost en route to the organisation's office in Birmingham.

Although the disk was encrypted, the GTC is currently in the process of moving over to an electronic data transfer system, it said.

"Because we recognise that no encryption system can ever be entirely infallible, we have taken urgent steps to put additional security measures in place for the affected records," said GTC registrar Alan Meyrick, in a statement.

"We have written to teachers affected to apologise and to assure them that steps have been taken to prevent records being accessed or misused in any way."