Government apologises after sharing email address of one of world's richest men

The government has apologised for accidentally sharing the email address of one of the world's richest men, as well as the contact details of other top business leaders.

It comes after officials sent out details about No 10's international investment summit in London next week - which included the contact details of some guests.

Those who were CC'd into the message, meaning their email addresses were displayed to all recipients, included Bernard Arnault, the founder and owner of luxury goods firm LVMH.

The French businessman has an estimated net worth of $182bn (£139bn) and is currently ranked as the world's fifth richest person by Forbes.

The blunder was first reported by The Sun newspaper.

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A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade apologised and said it had referred itself to the data protection watchdog.

They told Sky News: "This was caused by an administrative human error, and we apologise to those affected.

"We take data protection very seriously, and we have referred this issue to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)."

Sky News has approached the ICO for comment.