UK Accused of Cover-Up in Data Loss

Alistair Darling's disastrous week continued today as the British chancellor of the exchequer faced accusations of a cover-up in the lost-data fiasco, the Telegraph reports. Contrary to Darling's claim that the loss of 25 million people's data was an error by a junior administrator, newly released e-mails indicate senior tax officials knew about the decision to cut costs by not purging sensitive information before transferring the files.

Meanwhile, a Guardian investigation reveals that Northern Rock, the drowning bank to which Darling has committed $46 billion in taxpayers' money, has a massive hole in its finances and might not be able to repay its Treasury loan if it collapses. The twin headaches have jeopardized Labour's reputation for competence: The Tories are now 9 points ahead in the polls. (More Gordon Brown stories.)