The Labour Party has distanced itself from a data breach that has seen the date of hundreds of thousands of people dumped online.

The names, ID numbers, phone numbers and even voting preference of over 337,000 people was leaked in the breach.

Times of Malta reported on Thursday that the data originated from a list created by the Labour Party which which combines the electoral register with data gathered on voting preference.

The date was being held by C-Planet IT Solutions, a data company owned by Philip Farrugia, a former PL media employee. He is also the brother-in-law of Parliamentary Secretary Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi.

The breach is being investigated by the Data Protection Commissioner.

Times of Malta said the PL's executive committee held an emergency meeting in Thursday.

In a statement, the PL said the system used by the IT company is not the same as the one used by the party.

The PL said it has its own system which is controlled internally. The company named in the breach and its director were never connected to the PL's system in any way.

The PL said the information it has is held lawfully because it is provided by the Electoral Commission. It said it has always been careful in its handling of data, even before the introduction of GDPR.