The EC Article 29 Data Protection Working Party has issued an opinion on the concept of personal data which attempts to summarise the "common understanding of the concept of personal data" in the EU member states; the situations in which national data protection legislation should be applied; and how it should be applied. The opinion analyses the four main elements which make up the concept of personal data, adopting a wide interpretation which stands in clear contrast to the restrictive interpretation adopted by the English Court of Appeal in its decision in Durant v Financial Services Authority in December 2003. This will be of concern to UK data controllers, as their statutory obligations would be more difficult to fulfil if the English judiciary were to adopt the Working Party's inclusive approach to personal data.