Afghan Data Breach and Resettlement Schemes

Defence Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 2 Sep 2025 Parliament page
This inquiry will examine the circumstances behind and the consequences of a major data breach in February 2022 from the Ministry of Defence. The breach involved the personal data of thousands of Afghan applicants for resettlement to the UK and their families, potentially putting these people at risk of reprisals. … Read more
13 Recommendations
17 Conclusions
1 Report
6 Oral sessions
1 Letter
6 Events
Activity timeline 8 events
30 Jul
2026
Report published
19 May
2026
Oral evidence
21 Apr
2026
Oral evidence
20 Jan
2026
Oral evidence
9 Dec
2025
Oral evidence
18 Nov
2025
Oral evidence
4 Nov
2025
Oral evidence
3 Sep
2025
Correspondence
Oral evidence sessions 6 sessions
19 May 2026
View on parliament.uk
Panel 1
Dominic Wilson · Ministry of Defence Luke Pollard MP · Ministry of Defence Major-General Ben Cattermole · Ministry of Defence
21 Apr 2026
View on parliament.uk
Panel 1; Panel 2
David Williams, former Permanent Secretary Paul Lincoln, former Second Permanent Secretary Paul Rimmer
20 Jan 2026
View on parliament.uk
Panel 1; Panel 2; Panel 3
Rt Hon James Heappey, former Minister of State for the Armed Forces Rt Hon Sir Ben Wallace, former Secretary of State for Defence Rt Hon Sir Grant Shapps, former Secretary of State for Defence
9 Dec 2025
View on parliament.uk
Panel 1
David Williams · Daily Mail Professor Sara de Jong · The University of York Rafi Hottak - Former Afghan Interpreter
18 Nov 2025
View on parliament.uk
Panel 1
4 Nov 2025
View on parliament.uk
Panel 1
Holly Bancroft · The Independent Larisa Brown · The Times Mr Sam Greenhill · Daily Mail
Title HC No. Published Items Response
1st Report - Shifting heaven and earth? The Afghan data breach a… HC 69 30 Jul 2026 30 No response document linked
Recommendations & Conclusions
30 results
1 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
We are not a public inquiry and our access to evidence has been constrained, especially...
We are not a public inquiry and our access to evidence has been constrained, especially in relation to government and Court material, and material at higher levels of classification. We have nonetheless been able to reach important findings in less … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
2 Recommendation
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
In responding to this report, the government should publish a single action plan covering lessons...
In responding to this report, the government should publish a single action plan covering lessons from the breach and the resettlement response, with each action assigned a named owner, timetable for completion, intended outcome and means of reporting progress. After … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
3 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The breach was not simply an individual mistake, but a foreseeable systemic failure.
The breach was not simply an individual mistake, but a foreseeable systemic failure. It arose from the combination of inappropriate tools, weak operating procedures, insufficient training, poor organisational continuity, and an inadequate culture of data protection and accountability. The pressures … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
4 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
Describing the breach as a systemic failure does not mean that responsibility lay nowhere.
Describing the breach as a systemic failure does not mean that responsibility lay nowhere. Institutional accountability requires clear lines of responsibility. Where a department takes on unfamiliar responsibilities involving life-endangering data, clear senior ownership of risk, assurance and data protection … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
5 Recommendation
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
Government should mandate and enforce minimum standards for skills, process, tools, controls, independent assurance and...
Government should mandate and enforce minimum standards for skills, process, tools, controls, independent assurance and testing for datasets where compromise could plausibly risk life. The MOD should also explain who held senior official responsibility for data-protection risk in ARAP before … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
6 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The Afghan data-breach injunction was an exceptional measure with profound constitutional consequences.
The Afghan data-breach injunction was an exceptional measure with profound constitutional consequences. Even aside from the “superinjunction” element, it prevented public and parliamentary knowledge of a major policy response involving risk to life, substantial public expenditure and affected communities across … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
7 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
Future governments should treat this case as exceptional, not as a precedent for normalising injunctions...
Future governments should treat this case as exceptional, not as a precedent for normalising injunctions that suppress matters of widespread public interest. (Recommendation, Paragraph 104) 69
Ministry of Defence
View details
8 Recommendation
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
In any future circumstances requiring both secrecy and accountability, the government should test more seriously...
In any future circumstances requiring both secrecy and accountability, the government should test more seriously whether confidential briefing could be provided to a wider group of parliamentarians without significantly increasing the risk of disclosure. (Recommendation, Paragraph 105) Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
9 Recommendation
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The government should, in response to this report, publish the lessons it has learned from...
The government should, in response to this report, publish the lessons it has learned from the Afghan data-breach injunction and set out clear principles governing when it or any other public body may exceptionally seek an injunction preventing disclosure of … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
10 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The response to the breach exposed a serious weakness in cross- government governance.
The response to the breach exposed a serious weakness in cross- government governance. Once relocation became the principal means of mitigation, the MOD carried the strongest responsibility and incentive to act, but many of the levers needed to deliver the … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
11 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The government did not maintain adequate cost visibility over the direct financial consequences of the...
The government did not maintain adequate cost visibility over the direct financial consequences of the data-breach response. The NAO found that the MOD could not identify ARR-specific costs with normal audit confidence, because those costs had not been separately recorded. … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
12 Recommendation
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
Where policy must be designed or implemented in secret, the government should establish formal interdepartmental...
Where policy must be designed or implemented in secret, the government should establish formal interdepartmental governance arrangements from the outset. That governance should include clear ownership of decisions, delivery and costs; documented ministerial decision points; scheduled reassessment of necessity, scope, … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
13 Recommendation
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The government should set out clearly where responsibility lay across departments for the major decisions...
The government should set out clearly where responsibility lay across departments for the major decisions taken under the injunction, including responsibility for delivery, accommodation planning, cost assurance and oversight. It should also set out what lessons it has learned from … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
14 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The government was right to commission the Rimmer Review, and a similar reassessment of risk...
The government was right to commission the Rimmer Review, and a similar reassessment of risk and proportionality should have taken place much sooner after discovery of the breach. The Review was coherent, logically constructed and a fair reflection of the … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
15 Recommendation
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The government should establish and publish a process for periodic reassessment of the risks faced...
The government should establish and publish a process for periodic reassessment of the risks faced by ARAP applicants, former applicants and their family members who remain in Afghanistan or third countries, where those risks arise because of their past connection … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
16 Recommendation
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The government approached notification of affected Afghans primarily as a communications exercise rather than as...
The government approached notification of affected Afghans primarily as a communications exercise rather than as a safeguarding intervention. Although the notification reached most affected individuals, it did not provide sufficiently specific, actionable or individualised information to enable people to understand … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
17 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
Where government manages disclosure after a period of operational secrecy in a case involving credible...
Where government manages disclosure after a period of operational secrecy in a case involving credible risk to life, it should treat disclosure and notification as a safeguarding intervention. Break- glass arrangements should be tested in advance and designed around the … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
18 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
We recognise and respect the sensitivity surrounding Special Forces operations.
We recognise and respect the sensitivity surrounding Special Forces operations. However, the “no comment” approach is inappropriate for matters of administrative decision-making, data handling and accountability for resettlement casework. Serious questions have been raised about the governance arrangements under which … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
19 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The Triples Review revealed serious administrative failings in the handling of ARAP applications from former...
The Triples Review revealed serious administrative failings in the handling of ARAP applications from former members of Afghan specialist units who had worked closely with UK forces. The high overturn rate showed that earlier determinations that applicants were not eligible … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
20 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The UK’s obligations after the breach were wider than its pre-existing ARAP commitments.
The UK’s obligations after the breach were wider than its pre-existing ARAP commitments. The government had continuing obligations to eligible Afghans to whom public commitments had been made after Op PITTING, and additional responsibilities to people placed at increased risk … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
21 Recommendation
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The government should treat the remaining work for former Triples whose applications were affected by...
The government should treat the remaining work for former Triples whose applications were affected by serious administrative failings as a corrective exercise, not routine casework. It should identify the affected cohort, prioritise the remaining cases, including family applications and relocation … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
22 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
Government should not allow departments to continue leading high-risk protection or resettlement casework by default...
Government should not allow departments to continue leading high-risk protection or resettlement casework by default where that work falls outside their core expertise. Where such responsibilities are assigned in urgent circumstances, ministers should keep the operating model under formal review … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
23 Recommendation
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
We welcome the government’s stated ambition to clear the current ARAP caseload by spring 2027,...
We welcome the government’s stated ambition to clear the current ARAP caseload by spring 2027, and its decision to publish KPIs and transparency data. These are important corrective steps. But the commitment will only be meaningful if it is delivered … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
24 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The government has not adequately explained how it will protect eligible Afghans who cannot safely,...
The government has not adequately explained how it will protect eligible Afghans who cannot safely, lawfully or affordably self-move to a third country for UK entry-clearance checks. This is a serious gap in the current model. A policy that works … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
25 Recommendation
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The government should publish, by the time it responds to this report, a clear policy...
The government should publish, by the time it responds to this report, a clear policy for eligible Afghans who cannot safely, lawfully or affordably self-move to a third country. This should include criteria for identifying these cases and should set … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
26 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
Afghan resettlement has brought many people to safety, but successful resettlement cannot be measured by...
Afghan resettlement has brought many people to safety, but successful resettlement cannot be measured by arrival numbers alone. It should also be judged by how quickly families move from temporary to settled accommodation, whether they receive early support, whether unresolved … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
27 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
For many relocated Afghans, unresolved cases involving close family members remain a significant source of...
For many relocated Afghans, unresolved cases involving close family members remain a significant source of anxiety and affect wellbeing and integration. Family separation and lack of timely casework updates are therefore not peripheral issues; they are part of the continuing … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
28 Recommendation
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The government should ensure that relocated Afghans in transitional accommodation have timely access to casework...
The government should ensure that relocated Afghans in transitional accommodation have timely access to casework updates where unresolved applications involving close family members remain a significant source of anxiety or practical uncertainty. (Recommendation, Paragraph 224) Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
29 Recommendation
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The government should publish the outcome measures it is developing for the Afghan Resettlement Programme...
The government should publish the outcome measures it is developing for the Afghan Resettlement Programme and explain how they will be used to manage delivery and improve outcomes. These measures should cover, at a minimum, movement from temporary to settled … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
30 Conclusion
1st Report - Shifting heaven and e…
The obligations examined in this report arose from the UK’s long involvement in Afghanistan, the...
The obligations examined in this report arose from the UK’s long involvement in Afghanistan, the commitments made to Afghans who supported the UK mission, and the additional risks created by the data breach. The government and local partners have brought … Read more
Ministry of Defence
View details
Correspondence 1 letter
3 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Minister for the Armed Forces to the Chair dated 14th August providing an Update on Government’s response to Afghan Data Incident.
Parliament page