Clinic staff under investigation after Kate Middleton medical data breach: Everything we know so far

In yet another development in the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton’s health condition, three staffers at The London Clinical are allegedly being probed for an attempt to access her medical records, and possibly share it with others.

Kate Middleton spent almost two weeks at The London Clinic, reportedly undergoing a "planned" and "successful" abdominal surgery in January, according to Kensington Palace. King Charles, too, recently spent three days at the hospital undergoing a procedure for an enlarged prostate, before being diagnosed with a type of cancer.

The news of a data breach has thus sent the royal family and their fans into a flurry.

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The ICO is currently looking into Kate Middleton's alleged medical data breach

The chief executive of The London clinic, Al Russell, has spoken out about the news of the break, promising that strict steps will be taken against all those found guilty. He said,

“There is no place at our hospital for those who intentionally breach the trust of any of our patients or colleagues.”

"We take enormous pride in the outstanding care and discretion we aim to deliver for all our patients that put their trust in us every day.”

Russell insisted that there are systems in place to take care of private patient information, and all breaches are dealt with strictly.

"We have systems in place to monitor management of patient information and, in the case of any breach, all appropriate investigatory, regulatory and disciplinary steps will be taken. There is no place at our hospital for those who intentionally breach the trust of any of our patients or colleagues."

The news of the breach has been revealed to Kate Middleton, as is standard procedure with any patient, an insider talking to The Mirror revealed.

According to the insider, the alleged breach is being seen as “incredibly damaging” for the hospital, and the higher ups contacted royal aides immediately to assure them that there would be a full investigation into the matter.

Apart from the hospital officials, UK's data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has also launched a separate investigation into the matter, after receiving a breach report. The ICO stated that they are currently "assessing the information provided".

If found guilty, the staff at the hospital can be charged with a criminal offense and face a huge fine if found to have unlawfully accessed the princess’s records.

The UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary for health and patient care, Maria Caulfield, also spoke up about the situation, stating that it is:

“pretty severe and serious stuff to be accessing notes that you don’t have permission to”.

She also revealed that police had “been asked to look at” whether staff at the clinic attempted to access Kate Middleton's private medical records.

Incidentally, earlier today the Metropolitan Police had denied all suggestions of a probe being launched over a potential data breach at the hospital.

Many netizens, however, claim that the breach happened months ago, and is just another attempt to take away attention from the missing princess' whereabouts.

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This latest update shortly follows the social media frenzy surrounding Kate Middleton’s absence from public life and a doctored photo issued on Mother’s Day continues.

The princess was admitted to the London Clinic for abdominal surgery on 16 January and has not yet returned to royal duties.

While details of her health condition have not been disclosed, Kensington Palace had previously said it was not cancer-related and that Kate Middleton wished for her personal medical information to remain private.