ICO not to punish Islington Council over Andover Estate gang leak An investigation by the Information Commissioners Office ( ICO ) concluded the town hall should not face a fine despite releasing the details of residents to a gang of yobs they had complained about . The council was forced to pay 50,000 for extra policing on the Andover Estate after the names of 51 residents were released to 10 yobs in April 2012 . Six families had to be rehoused and a group of 14 residents each received between 1,000 and 5,000 in compensation after taking joint legal action against the town hall . Three months later a second leak in which the council published sensitive details including sexual preference , ethnicity , religion and mental health problems of around 2,400 residents saw the ICO fine the council 70,000 . Last year councillors set aside 500,000 to pay the fines but will now receive no further financial punishment . The town hall will , however , accept an information audit from the ICO , expected to take place this autumn . Leader of the Lib Dem opposition Cllr Terry Stacy said the verdict was a slap in the face to those affected . I m extremely disappointed in the ICO , he said . Its a slap in the face to the residents forced to move out of their homes due to the councils incompetence . At the beginning of 2013 , the email addresses of 150 residents were inadvertently made public . Since the leaks , the town hall says it has instigated a thorough programme of training and awareness - raising to make staff more diligent . Cllr Andy Hull , executive member for finance and resources , said : The release of this data was a serious matter . It was a case of human error but as we have said all along , that does not excuse it . The council is sorry for the distress this caused . An ICO spokesperson said : We considered the existing measures the council had in place to keep the information secure and the remedial measures introduced by the organisation . We also considered how best to ensure requirements are met going forward . It was determined that formal action was not the most appropriate means of promoting future compliance on this particular occasion . We will keep a record of the incident and revisit it if similar issues come to our attention . ;