2 h. ago Information that led to Afghan superinjunction being lifted was available last year, government admits

Fresh questions have been raised over why the unprecedented gagging order was maintained for so long when the level of risk to Afghans was known last year

Politics

2 h. ago Starmer’s fury over Afghan data breach as he warns Tories ‘have questions to answer’

On a dramatic day in Westminster, questions have been asked over why nobody was sacked for the data breach and why the information commissioner is not planning to investigate

Events

3 h. ago The Guardian view on the Afghan leak superinjunction: a dangerous precedent is set | Editorial

In an era of mistrust in politics, the government now has a duty to bring maximum transparency to a very opaque scandalOne of many extraordinary features of the data breach that put tens of thousands of Afghan lives in jeopardy is the length of time between the original leak and the government taking action. The email containing a highly sensitive dataset was sent from a Ministry of Defence computer in February 2022. Ministers were not aware of the problem until August 2023.The fact that the MoD’s systems were lax enough for the error to have been made is worrying enough. The delayed response is more alarming still. And then there is the disturbing mechanism by which the whole scandal was kept from the public eye.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Betrayal after betrayal: Afghan special forces abandoned by Britain had details leaked in MoD data breach

Soldiers from two specialist units have faced death and torture by the Taliban after being let down by Britain

Politics

5 h. ago Keir Starmer removes Labour whip from four ‘persistent rebel’ MPs

Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff pushed out and three trade envoys lose rolesUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has removed the Labour whip from four MPs for repeatedly breaching discipline and stripped three further Labour MPs of their trade envoy roles in an effort to assert his control over the party.The Guardian understands that the four MPs who have lost the whip are Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff. They were informed on Wednesday afternoon and told their positions would be kept under review. Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago Trump calls Epstein case a hoax and lashes out at Maga critics – live updates

President tries to downplay issue amid growing outrage from conservativesTrump says people interested in Epstein inquiry are ‘bad people’As Democrats reckon with a deep inter-party divide that threatens their ability to repair the party’s image and win back voters, Ken Martin said he was not focused on “internal bullshit” because “most people could care less about the internal drama and soap opera of the Democratic party”.Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, told the Guardian that he knows Democrats have to earn back trust from communities across the country before the midterms. Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago UK politics live: Suella Braverman apologises for Tory government ‘failures’ over Afghan data breach

Email blunder triggered the evacuation of thousands of Afghans who were brought to the UK under a secret resettlement scheme

Politics

6 h. ago Keir Starmer to remove Labour whip from at least four ‘persistent rebel’ MPs

Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff to be pushed out as PM takes actionUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer is to remove the whip from MPs for persistent rebellions, starting with at least four of them on Wednesday afternoon.The Guardian understands that four MPs set to lose the whip are Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman, and Chris Hinchliff. Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago UK politics live: ‘Angry’ Starmer says Tories have questions to answer over Afghanistan data breach

Email blunder triggered the evacuation of thousands of Afghans who were brought to the UK under a secret resettlement scheme

Politics

8 h. ago Voices: ‘We failed those who protected us’: Independent readers react to UK’s ‘shameful’ MoD data breach

Our community has reacted with anger, disbelief and deep concern to revelations that a catastrophic Ministry of Defence data breach, which put tens of thousands of Afghans at risk, was kept hidden under a superinjunction for nearly two years, as the government quietly launched a covert evacuation programme

Events

9 h. ago Starmer says Labour ‘inherited Tories’ failings’ from Afghan data leak, must answer ‘serious questions’

Sir Keir Starmer has said that the Conservatives have “serious questions to answer” over the Afghan data breach that put nearly 100,000 Afghans at risk of being killed by the Taliban.

Events

9 h. ago UK politics live: Starmer says Tories have ‘serious questions’ to answer over Afghanistan data breach

Email blunder triggered the evacuation of thousands of Afghans who were brought to the UK under a secret resettlement scheme

Politics

9 h. ago PM: Tories have questions to answer over Afghan data breach and superinjunction

Sir Keir Starmer raised the issue of the Afghan data breach at Prime Minsiter’s Questions.

Politics

10 h. ago Starmer says Tories have ‘serious questions to answer’ over Afghan data breach

Sir Keir Starmer has said that the Conservatives have “serious questions to answer” over the Afghan data breach that put nearly 100,000 Afghans at risk of being killed by the Taliban.

Politics

10 h. ago PMQs live: Starmer says Tories have ‘serious questions’ to answer over Afghanistan data breach

Email blunder triggered the evacuation of thousands of Afghans who were brought to the UK under a secret resettlement scheme

Politics

10 h. ago Trump calls Epstein conspiracy a ‘hoax’ and turns on Maga ‘weaklings’

President faces Maga backlash over claims of hiding details of Epstein’s crimes to protect rich elite – including TrumpUS politics live – latest news updatesDonald Trump has lashed out against his own supporters, calling them gullible “weaklings” for questioning the transparency of a secretive government inquiry into the late high-profile socialite and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The US president is struggling to contain a political crisis within his usually loyal Make America Great Again (Maga) base over suspicion that the administration is hiding details of Epstein’s crimes to protect the rich elite Epstein associated with, which included Trump. Continue reading...

Politics

11 h. ago UK politics live: Former veterans minister hits out at ‘ineptitude’ over Afghan resettlement scheme

Email blunder triggered the evacuation of thousands of Afghans who were brought to the UK under a secret resettlement scheme

Politics

12 h. ago No automatic right to resettlement for Afghans in data leak, says Healey

Defence secretary says it was ‘never the plan to bring everyone’ on dataset to UK, while Ben Wallace denies Tories sought superinjunctionUK politics live – latest updatesThe defence secretary, John Healey, has said there is no automatic right to resettlement for Afghans named in a leaked Ministry of Defence database, as the former Conservative ministers Ben Wallace and Johnny Mercer clashed over whether “thousands of people with little or tenuous links” had been admitted to Britain.The controversy revolves around a dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (Arap) that was released “in error” in February 2022 by a British defence official. Continue reading...

Politics

12 h. ago Not our finest hour: When Britain’s allies put their lives on the line, we abandoned them – and covered it up

The British believe their word is their bond – but no one who’s dealt with us agrees, least of all in Afghanistan, world affairs editor Sam Kiley writes

Politics

12 h. ago UK politics live: Defence minister warns ‘accountability starts now’ after Afghan data breach

Email blunder triggered the evacuation of thousands of Afghans who were brought to the UK under a secret resettlement scheme

Politics