Barristers’ data stolen in Bar Council robbery

Contact details and personal information for all practising barristers has been stolen during a burglary at the Bar Council.

The robbery on Friday evening resulted in the theft of a laptop and four hard drives containing addresses and contact details of barristers, the account numbers of some 3,000 direct debit payers and witness details from around 1,500 complaints against barristers.

The Bar Council, which has contacted the police, said the data was covered by a high-level of protection and would be difficult to access.

Chief executive David Hobart said: “I’m sorry that as a result of this burglary barristers and some members of the public have had data stolen from the Bar Council office in Holborn.

“At present the signs are this was a random burglary, but to be sure we’ll have to wait for the outcome of this police investigation.”

The stolen information included names and contact details for witnesses, complainants and barristers from 1,500 complaints, as well as the details of the grievances.

Much of the lost data about barristers is already available in bar directories. The hard drives also contained contact addresses for the lay members of the Bar Council and Bar Standards Board committees.

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