Exclusive: Official UK security assessment found Microsoft cloud platform storing files was at potential risk from hostile hackers

Vast troves of highly sensitive police data are lying on Microsoft cloud platforms which an official UK security assessment deemed to be vulnerable to “compromise” by foreign actors and the US government, a Guardian investigation can reveal.

The files include criminal records, victim statements, internal emails and sensitive information held by more than 40 police forces across the UK.

Details of parents and staff, including email addresses and phone numbers, are among data taken by cybercriminals

The Department for Education and a police database have been targeted by a cyber-attack, exposing more than 740,000 pieces of data.

Details of government officials, senior school leaders, university staff, police officers and members of the public have been taken by hackers.

Barristers report going unpaid and cases being turned away amid fears firms will desert legal aid work altogether

Lawyers have warned that a cyber-attack on the Legal Aid Agency has pushed the sector into chaos, with barristers going unpaid, cases being turned away and fears a growing number of firms could desert legal aid work altogether.

In May, the legal aid agency announced that the personal data of hundreds of thousands of legal aid applicants in England and Wales dating back to 2010 had been accessed and downloaded in a significant cyber-attack.