Mermaids has said some service users could be identified by the emails in question, but denied intimate details were leaked

A charity has apologised after thousands of emails were made public online.

Mermaids UK said it was "deeply sorry" for what it called a "historical data breach" after it was first reported by the Sunday Times.

However the charity has denied that intimate details were included in the correspondence. Mermaids said it had taken immediate and reported the breach when it occurred on Friday (14 June).

A statement from the charity said: “The scope of the breach was that internal Mermaids emails from 2016 and 2017 in a private user group were available on the internet, if certain precise search-terms were used.

“Mermaids understands that the information could not be found unless the person searching for the information was already aware that the information could be found.”

The statement continued that the material “mainly consisted of internal information involving full and frank discussion of matters relevant to Mermaids, but unfortunately included some information identifying a small number of service users.” Those who are affected have been contacted by the charity.

Mermaids provides support around gender and identity to young people aged up to 20 years old.