London - Millions of tax records have gone "missing" after computer problems at the Inland Revenue. The magazine Computer Weekly said it had a leaked briefing paper showing up to 5.2 million cases are under investigation because records have gone missing.
The magazine said the problems came after a computer holding national insurance details was linked with the computer operating the PAYE scheme. Both systems are managed by private firms.
However, the Inland Revenue said the suggestion that millions of tax records have gone missing is wrong.
It said every year details are passed between the two computers and some records are left "open" for a "variety of reasons".