Hundreds of Westminster political staffers are suing the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) after it allegedly published their salaries, holiday entitlements, and number of hours worked.
News of the lawsuit emerged after London’s High Court rejected a bid for anonymity by the staffers. They sued over a March 2017 blunder by IPSA which saw a spreadsheet containing confidential personal data published on its website, freely accessible by all.
The 216 claimants, who formerly worked in the Houses of Parliament, are suing the public body – formed by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, primarily as a retort to the parliamentary expenses scandal – for misuse of private information, breach of confidence, and breach of the Data Protection Act 1998.
Around 3,000 people received a compensation payout in 2019 from IPSA, though the remaining 216 took their grievance to the High Court after law firm JMW Solicitors advertised that affected staffers might have “a legal claim for compensation and other…
