Shamed bank fat cat now boss of online pharmacy selling your secrets
THE chairman of the online pharmacy site found to be selling NHS patients’ data without their knowledge is the shamed former chief executive of HBOS.
A Mail investigation yesterday told how the personal details of thousands of users of Pharmacy 2U are being sold to companies that target the sick.
Now we can reveal that at its helm is the disgraced banker Andy Hornby, who was in charge of HBOS when it collapsed in 2008.
Mr Hornby last night faced calls to step down from his role as non-executive chairman of Pharmacy 2U and was condemned for profiting from the sale of his customer’s personal data.
Many of those whose details he is selling on are some of the most vulnerable in society – either too ill to travel
From the Mail yesterday to their nearest surgery or the disabled. Others who use the NHSapproved pharmacy website used its online doctor consultations.
Their details – which included email addresses and dates of birth – were passed on without proper consent.
When Mr Hornby joined the company, the UK’s leading online pharmacy, in 2012, it said in a statement: ‘The imminent transition to electronic prescriptions across the NHS represents an exciting opportunity for Pharmacy 2U, and Andy’s insights and leadership will be of significant value.’
It is not known how much Mr Hornby – who works two to three days a week - is earning from the Leeds-based company, but it is thought he received a significant salary increase last year. He is also a principle shareholder.
Dr Sarah Wollaston, the outgoing Tory chairman of the Commons health select committee, last night called for Mr Hornby to step down and for a criminal investigation into Pharmacy 2U. She said: ‘He should be called to account for what his company is doing and issue a public statement. He needs to be made to sit down and explain why patient information is being sold on.’
She added that the health select committee should launch an inquiry into the issue after the election.
Following the financial crash in the autumn of 2008, a devastating report by the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards accused Mr Hornby and fellow former bosses of ‘catastrophic failures’ as they presided over years of reckless lending.
His current role is his third job since then. In 2011 he unexpectedly quit as £1million-a-year chief executive of healthcare group Alliance Boots, a move blamed on stress.
Four months later he became boss of Coral, a position he still holds. In 2013, he faced calls to quit amid reports the bookmaker was set for a £2billion flotation.
Pharmacy 2U admitted that it had sold the names and addresses of ‘up to 5,000’ patients to data company Alchemy Direct but refused to say how much it had charged.
It said it had decided to stop selling the information to Alchemy and stressed no medical data had been passed on.
Last night Pharmacy 2U said that Mr Hornby is ‘not involved in dayto-day decisions about the running of the business’. A spokeswoman added: ‘We have asked the Informa- tion Commissioner’s Office to work with us to review our privacy policy and have also contacted the General Pharmaceutical Council, our industry regulator, and the NHS, to discuss this matter.’
NHS England said: ‘Any breach of confidentiality is totally unacceptable. This case will be reported to the Information Commissioner and General Pharmaceutical Council and there will be an immediate investigation.’