RAF veterans whose home addresses and banking details are believed to have been on two computer hard drives stolen from a "secure" military location more than two weeks ago are considering suing the Ministry of Defence for negligence under the Data Protection Act.

RAF veterans whose home addresses and banking details are believed to have been on two computer hard drives stolen from a "secure" military location more than two weeks ago are considering suing the Ministry of Defence for negligence under the Data Protection Act.

The hard drives were taken from a building run by the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency at RAF Innsworth, near Gloucester, on September 17, but the disappearance of at least 50,000 potentially sensitive files was made public only last Friday.

The veterans have now been asked to submit photocopies of either their passports or driving licences, a recent utility or other bill showing their home address, or any letter from a bank, building society or council confirming identity and location to the RAF Data Centre at Kentigern House in Glasgow before they even discover if their records are among those missing.

One veteran said yesterday: "These people should only be given our unique service numbers. Our military service records include details of next-of-kin, date and place of birth and current and former addresses. Or have they lost those, too?"

Several of those potentially affected said they were taking legal advice and contacting others to explore the option of a joint class action.

The MoD says it is treating the theft and its implications "extremely seriously". As revealed by The Herald on Monday, the MoD issued an 0800 helpline when the theft was announced on Friday, apparently unaware that it could not be accessed by anyone serving outside the UK.