'This conviction represents for you a significant fall from grace - of which you are acutely aware'

This is the car insurance worker who abused his position to divulge hundreds of customer private details to ‘claims farmers’.

Rizwan Manjra, 44, was employed by Markerstudy Insurance Services Limited (MISL), based in the Arndale Centre in Manchester city centre, leading a team that processed accident claims.

MISL reported that they suspected an employee at the company had been accessing its systems to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). It was later found that a number of the claims had been accessed by Manjra outside of work hours, at the weekend and on days when he had taken annual leave, Manchester Crown Court heard.

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Of the 185 claims which were flagged by insurers that MISL, Manjra had been involved with 160 of them. The high number of claims that were being processed which caught their eye, and this prompted an internal investigation, leading them to Manjra.

Out of those 160 claims, 147 were not even referred to Manjra's team. No proper reason could be found for him to have access to those claims, prosecutor Ellie Watson said.

The ICO became aware of the data breach, and Manjra attended an informal investigation meeting over the phone in which he claimed he sometimes accessed the systems on a Sunday evening to save time on a Monday morning. He suggested he had not shared the data without consent.

A disciplinary meeting was set up, but Manjra failed to attend and a warrant was issued. Investigators found two mobile phones and a laptop at his address in Bolton.

In one of the phones, Manjra had messaged a number titled: ‘Paddy Coco’ frequently, sending files including the names, vehicle registrations and information of