I’ve said this in an older post on the topic, but as a data protection professional stories like this are a concern.
There are key points we should bear in mind.
Firstly, Mandelson is a cunt.
Secondly, even though he is a cunt, he hasn’t been charged or convicted of anything (yet).
Thirdly, even if he is, he still has the same rights to privacy as anyone else.
With all that in mind, if I were him I would be suing the shit out of the Cabinet Office and the government for what has been a deliberate breach of his data.
Why did the Cabinet Office still have his recruitment records? They should have been destroyed years ago.
Why did the Cabinet Office still have his personnel files? They should have been destroyed years ago.
Why does the Cabinet office even have records of private, non-work related conversations from years ago, on WhatsApp of all things?
Why does the Cabinet Office think UK GDPR doesn’t apply to them?
UK GDPR is barely worth the paper it’s written on considering the long list of exemptions.
Aye it was stricter before Brexit, but Mandelson has been in the game so long that there wasn’t a GDPR when he began. Every law seems to have exemptions and clauses about politicians and public bodies. I’m sure if Mandelson had a chance of suing the Cabinet Office over this he would have done so already, he isn’t lacking in access to lawyers.
Yes there is a long list of exemptions.
Which one allows for disclosure of personal data for political reasons/public pressure?
Maybe its an area of data protection law I’m not familiar with, but I’m not seeing it.
As for what Mandelson chooses to do, that’s upto him. I’ve worked with lawyers for over 20 years, unless its something they specialise in theres a good chance they just haven’t thought of it.
He’s a cunt, and personally I’m glad we know how shitty the recruitment and vetting process for him was.
But professionally? Its sub-par, if someone in HR where I work did this I’d be recommending dismissal.
Anything can be hand waved into acceptance with this one simple trick!
Lol.
It’s a bit thin, but I’m sure they’ll find some way of making it fit and then back dating any justification assessments they create to pretend they’d thought of it before they breached 😀