Phil Mair, an IT and Web Developer of Police Systems for 25 years, spoke to Whiteflowers “I find it inconceivable that any such data can could be deleted instantly and permanently. The only way such a catastrophic loss of data could occur would be if it never made it from the web-based form to the intended location (be it via a backend database or emailed in some way). “This would mean there had to be a fundamental flaw in the system that collected and posted the data from the web page. Such a fundamental flaw would have been obvious from the start - ie a simple test would have identified the fault before the system went live, or as a result of a trivial (and necessary) post-implementation test .. basically: once the web site was made live, then all someone would have had to do was spend a few seconds trying to fill in a dummy form. “If, however, they claim the data did reach it’s intended target (database or email system) then it would require both incredible naivety and incompetence during setup, and/or a highly sophisticated and deliberate set of actions, to destroy all trace of the data in such a thorough and irretrievable way. “This is such a ridiculous story that no one could possible believe it. This is akin to a senior banking executive claiming the bank ran out of money because someone left all the safe doors open for two weeks without anyone spotting dozens of people walking out of the building with banknotes stuffed into every pocket, and all the CCTV cameras were broke at the same time. “Would anyone believe this was an accidental coincidence that could not have been foreseen or avoided? I think not.”