Professional Standards Secretary Matt Cane said, “The Metropolitan Police Federation were made aware by the MPS on 26 August 2023, of an apparent data breach concerning the company which holds officers’ details contained on an Operation Fortress warrant card.
Obviously, this is very concerning, and we fully appreciate the concern our members will have that such data may have been compromised. The National Crime Agency supported by the National Cyber Crime Agency are leading the investigation into this breach and, to date, have notified us that they have not identified any publication of the data.
The MPF are represented on the MPS Gold Group overseeing this critical issue. We will update you on any change in circumstances that may affect our members. We have liaised with Federation lawyers about the capture of the relevant information so that they can assess what action can be taken on your behalf to remedy the situation, to protect your rights and any appropriate claim that can be pursued on your behalf, subject to the usual Police Federation funding criteria.
Given the scale of the exercise involving potentially tens of thousands of current and former officers, the MPF is keen to ensure that the capture of these claims and their processing is done as efficiently and speedily as is possible. The MPF is liaising with PFEW and Federation lawyers to discuss the most appropriate way to capture the relevant members’ details in order that these can be passed to the Federation lawyers.
It is likely to take some days to set this process up and to ensure that it runs smoothly as it is possible. The MPF is aware that some members have already been approached by lawyers suggesting that the members can sign up to a potential claim. Please be aware that lawyers outside of the Federation panel are likely to charge additional fees and/or deduct their fees from any damages. Further, if officers decide to commence proceedings with external lawyers, it is possible that they might not be able to join any later Federation funded group action and/or still have to pay the previous lawyers’ fees. Members are asked to carefully consider these risks before agreeing to instruct lawyers outside of the Federation panel.
I anticipate that we will be in a position to provide you with further information and an update in the next few days.
If in the interim you have any specific concerns about your particular situation, I would advise you to go to the Data Breach Queries Hub on the MPS Internet and register your concerns about your particular circumstances and any welfare matters that might arise because of a direct risk following the data breach.”
