For mind-blowing incompetence, it takes some beating.

If anything leads to the downfall of the Brown Government, it will almost certainly be the scandal over the missing discs containing confidential child benefit records.

More than 72,000 Oxfordshire families have suddenly found themselves entangled in this sad and sorry mess.

The names, addresses and dates of birth of their children, together with National Insurance, child benefit numbers, and bank and building society numbers, have vanished into thin air. Altogether, 25 million families are affected.

Most of us would think twice about sending valuable property without registering it.

Yet officials at HM Revenue and Customs happily sent confidential details of almost half the UK population from one Government department to another, using a standard commercial courier service. The mind boggles.

There have been enough warnings about identity fraud, yet the Government and its officials in this case have failed to take even the basic precautions.

It wasn't long ago that Labour admitted that the Home Office wasn't "fit for purpose".

With this and other recent disasters, it appears that the malaise is spreading rapidly to other parts of Whitehall.

The Tories are already making huge political capital of the latest calamity, and for Labour, there is no defence.

But the most important task now is to find those missing discs, and pray that they have not fallen into criminal hands.

If they have, the consequences for the Government, the country's financial institutions and 25 million families throughout the country will be dire.

Above all, the Government must learn lessons and make sure the country never again suffers from such carelessness and stupidity.