Leaked internal documents reveal the scale of the database fiasco at the Home Office, which has recently been criticised for delays in immigration application processing, long queues at borders and the distribution of incorrect identity cards.
The Home Office has been relatively silent about the database failures, referring vaguely to them as "IT issues". Ministers have denied there is a "systemic" problem with Atlas, the tool used by border officials and immigration officers, which operates off the flawed database.
Documents seen by the Guardian, however, shed light on the department's attempts to remedy a widespread problem that is causing people's data to be mixed up, often with that of complete strangers.
The problem, which involves "merged identities", where two or more people have biographical and biometric details linked incorrectly, is leaving many unable to prove their rights to work, rent housing or access free NHS treatment.
Government sources confirmed that an investigation was under way by the Information Commissioner's Office, which is considering whether the failure represents data breaches.
In January, the Home Office knowingly exacerbated the problem when, after a year of planning, it changed the way the database linked individuals' records in order to improve their accuracy for several million people.
A document seen by the Guardian highlights a "small but important downside [...] a few thousand people in the database who (typically due to human error) had other people's passport details recorded on their records. The trade-off here was deemed by the business [the Home Office] to be worth it, hence the approval to proceed." Information in the leaked documents suggests data relating to at least 76,000 people has been affected.
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