The Home Office has today revealed the extent of data loss from a USB memory stick reported lost by a third-party contractor last year.

PA Consulting mislaid the information when carrying out a contract for the government, with the company originally reporting that only 125,000 records were originally lost.

However, the real figure is much higher - 250,000 records more, in fact - with 377,000 separate records of data actually lost.

Commenting on the lack of data recovery exhibited in past circumstances, the Home Office said: "The department will continue to monitor and assess its information risk in the light of these events, in order to identify and address any weaknesses and ensure continuous improvement of its systems."

This week, it was revealed that the Home Office has trebled its consultancy spend over the last year after putting in some major work on the national identity scheme and the interception modernisation programme.

According to a recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent).