Southport victim’s parents ‘devastated’ after court files accessed

• The Ministry of Justice has launched an urgent investigation after sensitive court files regarding victims, survivors , and families of the July 2024 Southport dance class attack were accessed without authorisation by court staff.
• This security failure follows a separate data breach investigation by the North West Ambulance Service into whether its staff inappropriately accessed the medical records of the Southport victims.
• The parents of an injured child expressed their devastation at the breaches, demanding that those responsible be sacked and calling for full transparency regarding how their daughter's information was compromised.
• Fletchers Solicitors, representing 22 of the 23 surviving children, called for an independent government investigation into the voyeuristic culture across public services, accusing bodies of delaying breach disclosures.
• The Ministry of Justice apologised for the unacceptable access, reported the incident to the Information Commissioner's Office, and confirmed that the Lord Chancellor is overseeing the urgent probe.