A FATHER says his family's safety was put at risk by a council blunder which saw his personal details sent to thousands of people.
Renfrewshire Council wrote to the 5354 people on its approved landlords list inviting them to a Landlord Accreditation training course, but also attached a list with personal details of everyone on the list.
The error is a breach of the Data Protection Act and one man, who rents out a home in Renfrewshire, is fearful the nature of his job may put him at risk of attack by animal rights activists.
The man, who did not want to be named, works for a major pharmaceutical company. He said: "When I saw the email, I noticed a spreadsheet attached, which I naturally opened.
"When I realised what it was, I was shocked. It contains the personal details of thousands of landlords.
"I emailed the council right away to say I was extremely disappointed and anxious for the security of my family as a result of this breach of the Data Protection Act.
"I work for a pharmaceutical company and we are at a higher risk of attack from animal rights extremists.
"What the council did was release my email address, containing my company name, into the public domain along with my home address, putting me and my family at risk."
Renfrewshire Council replied to the man's complaint and apologised. An inquiry is underway to find out what went wrong and to ensure it does not happen again. A Renfrewshire Council spokesman said: "Some of the details in the spreadsheet are already publicly available through the Landlord Register.
"However, we recognise that the spreadsheet should not have been circulated in this way and that it also contained information which is not in the public domain. The council deeply regrets this accidental release of personal information.
"We treat data protection with the utmost importance and have robust policies and procedures in place to ensure that personal information is handled carefully.
"Unfortunately, in this case, human error meant that we fell below our normal high standards. We will learn from this mistake and identify if any new processes or training are required.
"The issues highlighted by this incident will be addressed by the appropriate managers to prevent any repeat in the future."
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