Councils have rejected claims by the information security watchdog of sloppy handling of sensitive data. A group of 26 councils was accused of ‘sloppy' practice, together with Whitehall departments and the private sector. Information commissioner, Richard Thomas, warned lives could be put at risk in the worst cases, and described some losses as ‘toxic'. He called for chief executives to take direct responsibility for the issue. The report came in the same week as Sheffield City Council revealed it had lost a computer disk containing details of hundreds of pensioners. Mr Thomas said: ‘The flow of data breaches and sloppy information handling continues. The number of breaches brought to our attention is worrying.' An LGA spokesman defended local government's record and revealed new guidance on data handling was being drawn up. ‘No organisation can guarantee it will never lose information. However, authorities know how vital it is that when people give personal information to their local council, they can be sure it will be kept secure. Even one data loss is one too many.'