Afghanistan Response Route (ARR)

Public Accounts Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 13 Oct 2025 Parliament page
The Afghanistan Response Route (ARR) was set up by the Ministry of Defence to mitigate the security risks arising from a data protection breach and the unauthorised disclosure of personal information about Afghan citizens which occurred in February 2022. The National Audit Office (NAO) has published a report on the … Read more
26 Conclusions
1 Report
4 Letters
Activity timeline 6 events
14 May
2026
Correspondence
20 Apr
2026
Correspondence
19 Jan
2026
Report published
14 Nov
2025
Report published
16 Oct
2025
Correspondence
3 Sep
2025
Correspondence
Title HC No. Published Items Response
54th Report - Afghanistan Response Route HC 1391 14 Nov 2025 26 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
12 results
Clear
10 Conclusion Acknowledged
54th Report - Afghanistan Response…
ICO unable to conduct full data breach investigation due to classified information.
In August 2023, after it discovered the data breach, the Department reported the incident to the Metropolitan Police and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The police decided that no criminal investigation was necessary. The ICO decided that it was not … Read more
Government Response
The government commissioned an independent, MOD-wide Data Protection Review in response to several high-profile and sensitive data protection incidents.
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13 Conclusion Acknowledged
54th Report - Afghanistan Response…
Department had data protection policies but improved systems since February 2022 breach.
As part of its investigation into the February 2022 data breach, the Department provided to the ICO details of its data protection policies, as well as training and guidance for staff on the risks of sharing information by email, that … Read more
Government Response
The government references a letter dated 7 October 2025 which includes an update on how the recommendations in the McIvor Review have been implemented.
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion
54th Report - Afghanistan Response…
Afghan relocation unit reported 49 data breaches between 2021 and 2025.
In August 2025, the Department reported that there had been 49 separate data breaches between 2021 and 2025 at the unit handling applications from Afghan citizens to relocate to the UK. Of these, the Department assessed that seven met the … Read more
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15 Conclusion
54th Report - Afghanistan Response…
Department implemented significant data protection improvements following multiple previous breaches.
We asked the Department about its response to a data breach which occurred in September 2021 relating to the ARAP scheme.31 The Department told us that it had engaged with the ICO in the autumn of 2021 follow multiple data … Read more
HM Treasury
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16 Conclusion
54th Report - Afghanistan Response…
Department identified 49 data breaches, attributing many to common email errors.
We asked the Department about the reported 49 data breaches, which included seven which met the threshold for reporting to the ICO, and whether there were ongoing investigations relating to these. The Department said that five incidents related to the … Read more
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17 Conclusion
54th Report - Afghanistan Response…
MoD failed to notify PAC about data breach after 18-month delay and obtaining super-injunction.
The Department first became aware of the data breach on 14 August 2023, 18 months after it occurred, when personal details of 10 individuals from the dataset were posted online on Facebook.40 Following its discovery of the data breach, on … Read more
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion
54th Report - Afghanistan Response…
Super-injunction upheld, limiting ministerial briefing on data breach to a select few.
The High Court and the Court of Appeal upheld the super-injunction in several subsequent private hearings and judgments between 2023 and 2025.43 The Department said that in September 2023, it expected that an injunction might be in place for at … Read more
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19 Conclusion
54th Report - Afghanistan Response…
Permanent Secretary chose not to inform C&AG or report data breach in MoD's annual accounts.
The data breach was also not reported in the MoD’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2023–24. The Comptroller & Auditor General, who is an officer of the House of Commons, is responsible for the audit of these accounts, which is … Read more
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20 Conclusion
54th Report - Afghanistan Response…
C&AG discovered data breach publicly in 2025, while audit director was secretly briefed but silenced.
The C&AG told us that the first he knew about the data breach was when it became publicly known in July 2025. His audit director had been briefed at the time of auditing the 2023–24 accounts, that there was a … Read more
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion
54th Report - Afghanistan Response…
C&AG requires full cost assessment; Permanent Secretary acknowledges "deeply uncomfortable" relationship handling.
The C&AG highlighted to us the crucial importance to the audit opinion of being able to assess whether there was adequate provision in the accounts to cover the full costs of resettlement schemes.54 We challenged the Permanent Secretary about the … Read more
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion Acknowledged
54th Report - Afghanistan Response…
Department unable to determine precise ARR scheme costs due to commingled accounts and super-injunction.
The Department is not able to determine exactly what it has spent on resettling people through the ARR scheme, because it did not separately identify the costs in its accounting system. The Department told us that it did this because … Read more
Government Response
The government states that capturing costs for the ARR scheme separately would be disproportionately complex and resource intensive, and proposes an alternative approach for allocating costs.
HM Treasury
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24 Conclusion
54th Report - Afghanistan Response…
Department's £850 million ARR cost estimate lacks sufficient evidence for NAO audit assurance.
At the time of publication of the NAO’s report, the Department had not provided the NAO with enough evidence to have confidence in the completeness and accuracy of the Department’s cost estimates.62 The Department estimates the total cost of the … Read more
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 17 of 0 classified
Accepted 6
Acknowledged 3
Deferred 5
Not Addressed 2
Rejected 1
Total 0 recs + 26 conclusions
Correspondence 4 letters
14 May 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence relating to Afghanistan Resettlement Programme Update, 28 April 2026
Parliament page
20 Apr 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee Chair relating to Afghanistan Response Route, 2 April 2026
Parliament page
16 Oct 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence relating to the February 2022 Afghan Data Incident follow up information, 07 October 2025
Parliament page
3 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Treasury Officer of Accounts at HM Treasury relating to the spending incurred following the Afghan data leak and in relation to expenditure on the Afghan Response Route, 26 August 2025
Parliament page