A "serious data breach" is being investigated after the names and salaries of MPs' staff were published on the internet.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) wrote to MPs to inform them that a number of documents had been been available on the watchdog's "old website" for about four hours after an "error".
"These should not have been made public as they contained confidential personal information about MPs' staff names, salaries, rewards, working patterns and holiday entitlements," Marcial Boo, IPSA chiefe executive, said.
"I would like to reassure you that no information relating to the security of the individuals affected was made public - no addresses, no bank account details, no phone numbers, and no National Insurance numbers were disclosed.
"However, we recognise that this was still extremely sensitive personal information."
It is understood that the documents were viewed and downloaded while they were visible, but it is not immediately known how many people did so.
IPSA said the Information Commissioner had been informed about the breach.
"Our first priority was to remove the data from our website as soon as we were first notified and it was taken down from our website last night within an hour of becoming aware of the issue," Mr Boo said.
"We believe that the information was accessible for around four hours and we will keep you updated with further details as we carry out a full investigation."
IPSA launched a new website last year but the old website is still used, mainly by MPs and their staff.
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