Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been named the internet villain of the year by the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA).

The government department won the award at the ISPA's annual dinner after losing the personal details of 25 million Britons. HMRC beat off strong competition from the BPI, BT Wholesale, David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The award for the internet hero of the year went to Peter Robbins, chief executive of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which works with the public and ISPs to take offensive material off the internet.

"Peter Robbins wins the Internet Hero award for his continued leadership of the IWF and approach to fostering extensive partnerships with the Internet industry, the government and law enforcement agencies to tackle illegal online content," said an ISPA spokesman.

The best business broadband supplier went to Datanet, with UK2 scooping the consumer supplier's award.