A KENT MP who was transport minister when data on millions of learner drivers went missing has denied there was a cover up.

Thanet South MP Dr Steve Ladyman said he had ordered a probe into what had gone wrong as soon as he was told about the missing records of three million learner drivers in America.

But the results of that investigation had not been given to him before he left his job as transport minister in a reshuffle during the summer.

He assumed his successor would hear about the investigation into the loss.

He insisted it would have been "ridiculous" to have made a public announcement before the results were known.

"At the time, the advice I was given was that it would not have been appropriate [to make an announcement] until I had been given more information.

"The report from Iowa suggested it was a disc that was lost within a secure unit. There was no suggestion it had gone missing. Under those circumstances it would have been pretty ridiculous to make any kind of public announcement."

Asked why the public was only told on Monday, he said: "I assumed the new minister would’ve been told about it. It doesn’t look like a cover up to me - it looks like one of those things."

Dr Ladyman spoke out to defend his role a day after Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly appeared before the Commons to reveal that the details of three million candidates for the driving theory test had gone missing.

He confirmed, however, that he had spoken to his successor about the missing data when the news broke earlier this month about missing data on benefits records.

"When that data went missing, I did have a conversation with Ruth and said ‘you may want to check on this.’"

He rejected oppostion charges that the incident was further evidence of government incompetence. "I understand why the opposition parties are trying to claim that but it does not wash."

North Thanet MP Roger Gale said: "I believe the situation should have reported to the House of Commons immediately and not many months later. Ordinarily this would have become a resignation issue but Dr Ladyman was moved in Gordon Brown’s reshuffle.

"I hope that this incident, and others involving the Government in the last month, will prompt Dr Ladyman to speak out against and vote against the idea of identity card information being held in one very, very powerful computer system.

"It is dangerous to hold so much critical information about people in one place, and I do not believe it is something that any Government of whatever political persuasion should support."