Britain has apologised after Sky News reported the government had accidentally disclosed the email address of Bernard Arnault, one of the world’s richest men, in the run up to a major investment summit, blaming the blunder on human error.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and finance minister Rachel Reeves will on Monday host some of the world’s most prominent financial and tech leaders at the event which is aimed at drumming up investment in Britain.
Arnault, the chairman and chief executive of the world’s biggest luxury group LVMH, was amongst those Reeves was hoping to convince that Britain is “open for business”.
But government officials had neglected to make Arnault’s email private when they pressed send on details for the event, meaning all recipients were able to see his address plus those of a number of other executives, Sky reported.
The country’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said on Friday it had referred itself to the data protection watchdog following the mistake.
“This was caused by an administrative human error, and we apologise to those affected,” a DBT spokesperson said.
“We take data protection very seriously, and we have referred this issue to the Information Commissioner’s Office.”
The ICO did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.