Census chief forced to quit over leaked details
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The director of last year's census was forced to resign after he broke a 200-year-old legal guarantee that all data would be kept confidential, it was revealed yesterday.
Graham Jones stepped down from the 2001 census after he allowed details of two people linked to an investigation into an alleged miscarriage of justice to be released.
The information, which came from the 1961 census, was requested by the Criminal Cases Review Commission under legislation giving the body the right to access any government records concerning the subject of an inquiry.
It is thought to have included details such as place of residence and marital status.
But Len Cook, the registrar general and the official in charge of the census, said neither of the two people were the subjects of a review and no personal details could be released. Under legislation governing the census, all personal information must be kept confidential for 100 years before it can be released to the public, the Commons Public Accounts Committee was told.
Mr Jones was suspended from his civil service role in February and allowed to resign in April without facing a disciplinary charge. Mr Cook told MPs: "The critical thing is that he did not make it known to me what he had done on a matter of some consequence."
In an earlier breach, Mr Jones agreed a £500,000 contract with a company run by a former Whitehall colleague to consult on the 2001 census.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments