UK postcode database leaks online
A database claiming to contain all of the UK's 1.8m postcodes - and their precise geographical location - has been leaked online.
The infamous Wikileaks site has published the database, which it claims was updated as recently as 8 July. The information is stored as a plain text file that includes comma separated data such as grid references, wards and NHS region.
The Royal Mail has long rebuffed calls from freedom of information campaigners to make the full postcode database freely available. It made £1.6m from licensing the database in 2007, according to a report in The Guardian.
