Innocent people are being held on paedophile charges because of police typos

Innocent people are being wrongly arrested because of blunders in warrants to obtain access to phone and internet records, a new report has revealed.

People across the UK have reportedly seen their children being taken into care, as well has having their homes, phones and laptops searched as a direct result of ‘appalling’ errors.

According to the Daily Mail, more than 20 typing errors have led to wrongful arrests.

The figures were revealed by the interceptions watchdog, which raised major concerns about authorities linking IP addresses to physical locations.

In his annual report, Interception of Communications Commissioner Sir Stanley Burton described the mistakes as ‘far more common than is acceptable’.

‘People have been arrested for crimes relating to child sexual exploitation. Their children have been taken into care, and they have had to tell their employers’, he said.

‘On confirmation of the error, all the power of the state, which comes into force to protect children, needs to be turned around and switched off.’

Specifically, one case reportedly saw police carrying out a search warrant at an incorrect address – resulting in two children being taken into care by social services for a whole weekend while their parents were questioned.

Another saw the arrest of an innocent person who was interviewed in a blackmail investigation after police applied for his personal details based on an incorrect phone number.

In 2011, Nigel Lang was arrested for four hours after being wrongfully arrested for downloading images of child abuse.

Most popular on Yahoo News UK

Driver arrested over Melbourne attack is ‘Afghan-born Australian with mental health and drugs problems’
Stepfather of boy, five, who drowned at water park jailed for more than seven years
First picture released of Polish woman killed in quadruple hit and run in south London
Driver admits dangerous driving after dashcam footage shows him swerve into a cyclist
Builders halt their Christmas party to help homeless woman, 71, and pay for her to stay in a hotel

He was placed under strict bail conditions and barred from having unsupervised access with his two-year-old son.

It later emerged that Hertfordshire Police had noted the wrong IP address and passed it on to South Yorkshire police.

Last year, Mr Lang settled for £60,0000 in compensation and legal costs.

Public authorities obtained more than 750,000 items of communications data in 2016, with 1,101 communications data errors reported to the Commissioner’s office.