Allegations against two Starmer team members – including his data compliance official, according to BBC.
The Labour Party has complained to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) about the alleged ‘serious’ hacking of member data by two members of Keir Starmer’s leadership campaign – including his compliance official.
If the complaint is upheld, this will not be the first data breach involving Labour leadership campaigns.
In 2018, the ICO found that failed Unite leadership challenger Gerard Coyne had received and used Labour member data from Owen Smith’s campaign. Smith had received the data for his 2016 leadership bid, but data laws forbid the use of data for any purpose for which the ‘data subject’ has not given permission. The breach had been exclusively uncovered by the SKWAWKBOX more than a year earlier.
Starmer has appointed Smith’s former head of compliance to his own campaign, although it is unclear to which role.
Starmer has dismissed the claims as “utter nonsense”, writing late last night to the party denying any wrongdoing and insisting, according to the BBC, that:
they were investigating a means of penetrating the database – called Dialogue – with no intention to use it.
The SKWAWKBOX needs your support. This blog is provided free of charge but depends on the generosity of its readers to be viable. If you can afford to, please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here for a monthly donation via GoCardless. Thanks for your solidarity so this blog can keep bringing you information the Establishment would prefer you not to know about.
If you wish to reblog this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.