VOA常速英语2007年-British Leader Apologizes After Taxpayer Inform

By Tom Rivers
London
21 November 2007

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has apologized and ordered a review after the personal financial details of about 25 million people were lost in the mail.  The loss of the huge amount of sensitive information from the Revenue Department has sparked widespread fears of identity fraud and theft throughout the country.  For VOA, Tom Rivers reports from London.

Against standard procedures, a junior civil servant mailed two computer discs containing the sensitive data between two government departments.  Those CDs never arrived and no one knows if they have fallen into criminal hands.  They contain a treasure trove¹ of information including names, birth dates, banking² and address details.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown faced a hostile session Wednesday in the House of Commons, where the competency of his government was questioned.

Leading those questions was Conservative opposition³ leader David Cameron.

"On a day when the government has lost the details of 25 million people, to try and blame the opposition is frankly⁴ pathetic," Cameron said. "Do you know what people want from their prime minister on a day like this, is for him to stand up, show some broad shoulders, be the big man and take some responsibility."

To which Prime Minister Brown responded.

"Mr. Speaker, I said right at the beginning I apologize for what has happened," Mr. Brown said. "Everyone who is a recipient⁵ of child benefit should know that we will take every proper procedure now to improve the working of HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) and to improve the working of every government department and agency and I have announced the inquiry⁶ not simply into the HMRC, but that the Secretary to the Cabinet will look at every government department and every agency."

Given the serious nature of this information security breach⁷, Cameron then questioned Brown about whether his government could be trusted to properly secure the information it wants to hold on every person in Britain if the government's I.D. plan goes ahead.

"If the prime minister really wants to learn some lessons from this, will he recognize, will he recognize this appalling⁸ blunder comes at a time when the government is planning a national identity register to draw together private and personal details of every single person in this country," Cameron said. "Will the events of the last few days cause the prime minister to stop and think about this policy?"

Mr. Brown said despite the information breach, he still favors his plan of keeping personal information on everyone in Britain.

"What we have got to insure is identity fraud is avoided, and the way to avoid identity fraud ... is to say that where people have passport information ... then we will have the biometric support that is necessary so that people can feel confident ... that their identity is protected," Mr. Brown said.

But the mood in the country right now is that the government is not up to the task of safeguarding any such plan.

Meanwhile, Scotland Yard has been brought in to lead in the search for those missing data discs.  Banks have been alerted, but according to the prime minister, there have been no reported signs of fraudulent banking activity that could have resulted from the information contained on those revenue computer records.  

1 trove   

n.被发现的东西，收藏的东西

参考例句：

• He assembled a rich trove of Chinese porcelain.他收集了一批中国瓷器。
• The gallery is a treasure trove of medieval art.这个画廊是中世纪艺术的宝库。

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

5 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

6 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

7 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

8 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。