The UK Government accidentally published the home addresses of more than 1,000 New Year Honours recipientsin December 2019 as reported by various newspapers in United Kingdom. The list was briefly posted to a government website, allowing anyone who visited the page to download it as a spreadsheet.

The file contained postcodes and house numbers of nearly every person recognised in the list. It included celebrities such as singer Elton John, TV chef Nadiya Hussain and cricketer Ben Stokes, senior politicians including Iain Duncan Smith, as well as senior police officers.

The Cabinet Office said it had referred itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office and would be contacting anyone involved. "A version of the New Year Honours 2020 list was published in error which contained recipients’ addresses," a Cabinet Office spokesperson said.

"The information was removed as soon as possible. We apologise to all those affected and are looking into how this happened. "We have reported the matter to the ICO and are contacting all those affected directly."

The ICO confirmed it is "making enquiries" in response to the reports of a data breach.

Nearly 1,100 people were celebrated in the New Year Honours list, which included almost all of their addresses, although some - the six people recognised for their service to defence - were redacted.