A junior Royal Navy officer is facing a court martial after a laptop containing the personal data of 600,000 people, including serving personnel and thousands of people who have shown an interest in a military career, was stolen from his car.

The loss of the laptop was considered to be so serious that Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, will make a statement to the Commons early next week.

The Ministry of Defence said last night that the data included bank account and passport details, national insurance and NHS numbers, and home addresses.

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Serving members of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and RAF will be the most vulnerable to potential fraud because all their details would have been included. People who indicated an interest in the Services would have supplied only names and addresses. The laptop was stolen from the car parked in Birmingham overnight on January 9-10. MoD sources said that laptops could be removed from an office or base only if there was proper signed authorisation. One source said: “We cannot confirm yet whether this laptop had been signed out.”

There were concerns last night about security implications because recruits could be targets for terrorists.

West Midlands Police were investigating the theft. Meanwhile, the MoD took steps to safeguard the personal data of the people involved, and said that it included details of young men and women who were in the early stages of applying to join the Services. The MoD said that army details were not involved.

Although the theft was known about more than a week ago, the MoD decided to keep it secret in order to take immediate security measures. It said that the theft had leaked out to the media, and a decision was taken to make a full statement.

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