Select committee: Defence Committee
Conclusion 30
1st Report - Shifting heaven and earth? The Afghan data breach and resettlement schemes
Published 30 Jul 2026
Addressed to Ministry of Defence
Defence Committee Afghan Data Breach and Resettlement Schemes All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
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 many people to safety in challenging circumstances and supported their settlement in the UK: those efforts deserve recognition. But the central lesson of this episode is that a foreseeable MOD data failure became a wider failure of governance. A breach that should have been prevented was followed by a response shaped by prolonged secrecy, weak accountability, fragmented delivery and inadequate challenge. The consequences were operational, financial and constitutional, but also, first and foremost, human. High-risk, secret, rapidly scaled operations require stronger systems, clearer ownership, earlier external challenge and firmer accountability from the outset. (Conclusion, Paragraph 226) 75
From: Defence Committee, 1st Report - Shifting heaven and earth? The Afghan data breach and resettlement schemes (HC 69), 30 July 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 16 October 2026 (deadline 30 September 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Ministry of Defence says the data incident was "unacceptable", accepts a number of the Committee's conclusions and some recommendations in whole or in part, and declines others, citing risk to life and national security.
- On the injunction, the government agrees the super-injunction was exceptional and accepts Recommendation 8 "in principle", but says any decision to widen briefing would be "for the government of the day".
- It "accepts part of" the recommendation to publish principles on injunctions, saying any course of action "remains a decision for Ministers" and is to be considered case by case.
- It will provide the Committee with "six-monthly updates" on the Afghan Resettlement Programme and expects to complete all ARP casework by Spring 2027, though the August 2026 milestone for initial decisions was missed.
- It declines to publish quality assurance KPIs, saying they "could have unintended consequences", and says exceptional circumstances will be considered for those unable to self-move within 12 months.