HMRC has recorded 1,491 electronic devices as being lost or stolen in the past five years
The figures, obtained through a recent Freedom of Information request, revealed that 1,183 devices were recorded as lost, while 308 were stolen. This included 881 missing phones, 570 tablets, and 40 lost laptops over the last five years.
Around a third of the lost devices went missing after the pandemic first struck and HMRC staff began to work from home.
HMRC claimed that a number of items had gone missing due to being lost by couriers while in transit, rather than by employees.