A SENSITIVE document wrongly sent out by the Isle of Wight Council has led the local authority to apologise to 90 families and self-refer itself to a data privacy watchdog.

Parents of Year 11 home education students were shocked to receive an email with a document attached, containing personal data about the families.

It had been attached in error and was recalled after 20 minutes, with a message asking recipients to delete it and not open it.

However, the document went to 80 email addresses and now the matter is under investigation.

What did the Isle of Wight Council say about home ed data breach?

An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson said: "An email was sent to parents of Year 11 elective home education students on Friday afternoon.

"The email included an attachment in error which contained the personal details of the 90 families in this cohort.

“In line with the council’s protocols the email was recalled 20 minutes after sending and a follow up email was also sent to all recipients asking them to delete the original email without opening it.

“The email was sent to around 80 addresses and the council would like to apologise to all of the families listed in the document that was incorrectly attached and would be grateful for their support in deleting the original email sent in error.

“The council has notified the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) about the matter.”

What is the Information Commissioner's Office?

The ICO is the UK's independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.