SMEs need to improve data protection, says Chiles

A prominent television personality has said that small businesses should be doing more to protect consumer data.

Adrian Chiles, who previously presented the television programme Working Lunch, will be the public face of this year's National Identity Fraud Prevention Week.

To coincide with the week, Fellowes accountants conducted research into consumer opinions on data protection, which found that 97% of people were not confident that businesses were taking satisfactory measures.

Mr Chiles said: "While many [small businesses] have introduced stringent identity fraud prevention policies, more than a fifth of businesses in the UK still don't have comprehensive strategies in place."

He also praised the small businesses in the UK which had taken adequate security measures, saying they had "come a long way".

Other organisations which will be involved in the week include the British Retail Consortium and the Federation of Small Businesses.

Recent research found that the number of business start-ups in Scotland had fallen by more than 3,000 in the second quarter of this year.