Powergen scandal: MPs to quiz DTI in the Commons

Government ministers will face tough questions about the Powergen scandal in the House of Commons next week, following action taken by silicon.com.

The case has thrown serious doubt over the systems that currently exist to protect consumer data, as neither the energy industry regulator, Ofgem, nor the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), accepted responsibility for persuing the matter. The Data Protection Commissioner was "too busy" to follow up our inquiries.

As a result, MP Derek Wyatt will table questions put forward by silicon.com about data protection laws, following the security breach suffered by the utility in which thousands of credit and debit card details were left exposed on its web server.

Wyatt told silicon.com: "It seems to me that we've just exposed a hole in which no one is actually responsible and I think you'll find in a week or two a minister will take responsibility very quickly."

The fiasco has provoked little response from the DTI, despite its potentially devastating impact on consumer trust in online services. Ecommerce minister, Patricia Hewitt, issued a statement on Thursday which said: "Data security is an important issue whether it be stored on paper or electronically. We shall be talking to Powergen and the Data Protection Commissioner to see if there are any wider lessons we can learn."

But Caspar Bowden, director of privacy lobby group Foundation for Information Policy Research, said the government needs to seriously review the laws currently in place to protect online privacy.

Bowden said: "One of these incidents could seriously back fire unless more is done to prevent this kind of practice."

silicon.com will bring you news of the Parliamentary response as it happens.