UK Government apologises for sharing email address of one of world’s richest men

The UK Government has referred itself to the data protection watchdog after accidentally sharing the email address of one of the world’s richest men in the run-up to a major global investment summit hosted by Britain.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) apologised for the “human error” after officials sent round a message about the event next week which displayed the contact details of Bernard Arnault and other business leaders.

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LVMH

Mr Arnault, a French tycoon who founded and owns the luxury goods firm LVMH, has an estimated net worth of 182 billion dollars (£139 billion) and is currently ranked as the world’s fifth richest person by Forbes.

He is one of around 300 industry leaders invited to attend the Government’s International Investment Summit in London next Monday, where ministers will pitch the UK as a more attractive destination for business.

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Blunder

The DBT said the blunder, first reported by The Sun newspaper, had been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

A spokesperson said: “This was caused by an administrative human error, and we apologise to those affected.

“We take data protection very seriously, and we have referred this issue to the Information Commissioner’s Office.”