Police said the laptop was taken from a vehicle parked overnight in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham.

The laptop contains data including passport numbers, National Insurance numbers and bank details.

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The ministry said it was treating the theft with the "utmost seriousness".

The police said they received a report that the laptop had been stolen from a car parked in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham on 10 January.

Last November, it emerged that 25m child benefit records had been lost after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) sent two unregistered and unencrypted discs to the National Audit Office.

Extensive records

"The information held is not the same for every individual," the MoD statement said.

"In some cases, for casual enquiries, the record is no more than a name.

"But for those who progressed as far as submitting an application to join the Forces, extensive personal data may be held, including passport details, National Insurance numbers, drivers' licence details, family details, doctors' addresses and National Health Service numbers.

"The Ministry of Defence is treating the loss of this data with the utmost seriousness."

The MoD said it was writing to 3,500 people whose bank details were on the laptop's database.

It said it was working with the Association for Payment Clearing Services to inform the relevant banks and ensure that accounts affected are "flagged for scrutiny against unauthorised access".

Simon Davies, from pressure group Privacy International, told BBC News 24 he was "flabbergasted".

"I cannot believe that our flagship security agency cannot get this right," Mr Davies said.

"The idea that someone could have the computer with the information unencrypted, it is on a par with the HMRC loss."

'Quite concerning'

Mr Davies said the theft was "reminiscent of so many data breaches".

"There are so many procedures and no-one knows which procedure is in place," he said.

Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox told BBC News 24 that the theft was "clearly quite concerning".

"I think that the police will be wanting to check in the first instance that there is no real risk of security lapses," he said.

"It's just been too easy for data to go missing recently and we need to look at how to protect the details of the public."

He said he had spoken to Defence Secretary Des Browne and agreed that the matter would be discussed in the House of Commons next week.

More information and advice can be obtained by emailing recruitdata@check.mod.uk from 1000GMT on Saturday 19 January.

Anyone with information should contact West Midlands Police on 0845 113 5000.

(BBC)

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