MoD Afghan data leak was foreseeable failure, UK inquiry finds

A report by the Defence Committee has concluded that a significant data breach within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was not an isolated error but a predictable systemic failure. The committee cited a combination of factors, including inadequate tools, weak procedures, insufficient training, poor continuity planning, and a deficient culture of data protection and accountability.

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The Ministry of Defence should stick to defence - it should never have been left to run immigration casework schemes.

The breach, one of 19 reported between February 2022 and November 2023, involved a Ministry of Defence employee sharing a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet containing sensitive information. This data pertained to over 18,500 individuals who applied to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme by January 2022. The Arap scheme was established in April 2021 to aid those fearing for their lives after working with British forces in Afghanistan, offering resettlement in the UK.

Committee chairman Tan Dhesi criticized the MoD's management of immigration casework schemes and labeled the Afghan relocation scheme itself as "utterly and obviously inadequate." Dhesi also condemned the secrecy surrounding the breach, noting that a super-injunction, intended to last four months, remained in place for nearly two years, significantly hindering accountability and public trust. The committee questioned the government's policy of not commenting on special forces matters, particularly when administrative failings are involved, stating that such secrecy should not shield the public from understanding how these failures occurred.

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the wider Afghan relocation scheme as "utterly and obviously inadequate".

The report also raised concerns about the involvement of UK Special Forces (UKSF) in the resettlement process and the "neither confirm nor deny" policy that prevented the committee from fully investigating potential connections between their involvement and the data handling. The committee emphasized that administrative failings, even those involving sensitive operations, should not be obscured by secrecy.

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Secrecy has been too easily used as a shield against proper accountability in areas far removed from sensitive operations.