A LIST of the names of Syrian refugees and their new addresses in Clydebank was stolen one day before they were moved to the town, The Post can reveal.

Some of the most vulnerable families in the world, fleeing the ravages of war, could have been put at further risk by the data breach.

West Dunbartonshire Council has refused to comment on the incident, which was confirmed by police.

Concerns have been raised because the data relates to new residents who are most in need of protection.

Police Scotland confirmed between noon on November 21 last year and 11am on November 22, an insecure vehicle belonging to a council employee was broken into in Beith, Ayrshire. A laptop bag was taken including an encrypted computer and a piece of paper with names and addresses.

It is understood these details were of Syrian families, and 10 families were moved into Clydebank on November 23.

West Dunbartonshire Council, who were instructed to train staff on data protection back in 2013, refused to answer questions about the incident. But a Freedom of Information request to the authority confirmed police involvement in the loss or theft of data related to Syrian refugees.

The first refugees from Syria arrived in Scotland on November 17 last year, and West Dunbartonshire has been amongst the few authorities in the UK to welcome them, while much larger councils have failed to take any.

Robina Qureshi, of Glasgow-based refugee charity Positive Action in Housing, said: “We aren’t aware of this happening elsewhere and it would be a concern of course if that list got into the wrong hands. We would hope the council is putting in place remedial measures to guarantee the safety of refugees from hate crime.”

Clydebank MSP Gil Paterson said: “This is grim news, to hear the details of refugees in Clydebank could have been leaked. I hope this Labour council can get its act together and do what has been recommended by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

“It’s absolutely staggering that West Dunbartonshire Council has failed – and resisted – to carry out data protection training for so long.”

The Scottish Refugee Council refused to comment.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said they would not confirm if an incident had been reported or not.

In April, West Dunbartonshire Council was served with an enforcement notice from the ICO because they repeatedly failed to train all workers on data protection after a child’s adoption papers were stolen.

The council appealed, arguing it was unreasonable to ask staff such as refuse workers, who would never handle sensitive data, to be trained.

The Post has learned the council has now dropped the appeal and the ICO has agreed to clarify the order over the concerns of the authority.

A spokeswoman for the council said: “Following discussions with the ICO, we have achieved the objectives identified in our appeal and accordingly have withdrawn it. The council will now as a priority proceed to implement the training programme that has been approved by the ICO.”

Councillor Jonathan McColl, SNP group leader and chairman of the audit and performance review committee, said he was made aware of the November theft earlier this year, in the context of the ICO’s enforcement notice.

He said the ICO was happy with how the situation was dealt with.

Cllr McColl said: “It’s important that the council make sure staff handling private information, particularly those working from home, have a good knowledge and understanding about their responsibilities handling data.

“This was not anything intentional but staff have to make sure they treat data with the seriousness that it merits.”

Independent councillor George Black said he was unaware of the data theft last year.

He said: “Looking at the EU referendum, it was won by xenophobes and people opposed to immigration. I’m the opposite – I welcome people who enrich our community.

“I would be concerned that, given we have already had a warning in relation to data protection and there was an action plan to ensure it doesn’t happen again, why did it happen again?

“Although we have expressed a welcome to Syrian refugees, not everyone feels that way and how we deal with people from war-torn countries should be handled very carefully.”