Data Breach: ARAP Applicants in Afghanistan

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There is rightly cross-party concern about this very grave security breach involving names, email addresses, and in some cases photographs of 250 Afghan ARAP applicants. What action is the MOD taking to urgently evacuate these individuals? How will contact with them be maintained post-breach?

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Given the Taliban's history of exacting revenge on those who worked with NATO, what clandestine measures can be taken to ensure safe extraction for these interpreters if standard procedures are not effective?

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I thank the Secretary of State for his apology. I do not doubt the sincerity of it, and I do not doubt for a second the anger that he will have felt when he got the news of this unacceptable and quite dangerous leak yesterday. However, I have a few questions to follow on from those asked by the shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey), and the Chair of the Select Committee on Defence, the right hon. Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood). Can the Secretary of State confirm whether the Taliban have the capability to monitor these people’s emails? I do not want to know if they are monitoring them—I suspect that he would not tell the House even if he did know—but do they have the capability to do so? How long will the investigation take? Who will carry out the investigation? Is the person who has been suspended an employee of the Ministry of Defence or of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office?

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Will the Secretary of State outline in a bit more detail, if he is able to, the additional resources that he intends to commit to ensure that people are not exposed to any more danger than they already are as a result of the leak? I understand entirely the point that he makes about using mass email as a communications method, but who signed off on that as an okay way to make that communication?

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The shadow Secretary of State is right that when these breaches happen, we get these apologies and then there tends to be silence, so more broadly, what is being done to arrest this worrying trend of data leaks from the Secretary of State’s Department? Is he going to order a broader investigation?

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I am delighted to hear from my right hon. Friend just now that Admiral Key has got a knighthood. There has not been one earned by anyone better for many years. The challenge of this event is not the accident, the mistake, that we can see happened. I think we all sympathise with the Ministry of Defence and indeed the Secretary of State; accidents do happen. The challenge is that there are people still there and that the co-ordination for getting people out is still complicated. Will my right hon. Friend commit to working to get a single point of contact for all those in Afghanistan who are seeking to leave? The system whereby some have to apply to the MOD, and others to the Foreign Office or through the Home Office, is excessively complicated and is leading to obstacles, including on at least four different occasions that I can speak of. People are stuck in Lashkar Gah, Kabul or Mazar-e-Sharif, trying to get out, but they are still not getting the smooth transfer that we need.

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This is another in a long line of serious errors regarding the Government’s Afghan relocations that will cost lives. Can the Secretary of State please advise us how many of the 260 interpreters the Government have been unable to make direct contact with since the breach?

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Between 2001 and 2014, UK forces employed 2,850 interpreters. From 2014, they were on sub-contracts, so we are looking at 300 or 400 more. The relocation programme up till April this year relocated 440 interpreters. I can account for about 99 interpreters who were rescued during Operation Pitting. What assessment has the Secretary of State made of how many interpreters—not families, but interpreters—the MOD has been able to rescue from Afghanistan? It jars slightly with numbers in the low hundreds that he is presenting to the House today.

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The Secretary of State’s anger at hearing the news is not in any way misplaced, and I thank him for coming to the Chamber and making his statement. It seems to me that there is a wealth of difference between a mass email and individual one-to-one contact. Can I seek an assurance that every one of the people we know about is in proper one-to-one contact, either by text or other means, with somebody in the Ministry of Defence or the FCDO who can mentor them, talk to them and help them face this huge problem?

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Suggests implementing an automated reminder system to prevent sensitive emails from being sent to multiple recipients. Proposes handing over a list of former long-term British contract employees in Afghanistan to new Parliamentary Private Secretaries for secure handling.

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Asks if the Secretary of State is considering using simple software similar to caseworker systems used by MPs to prevent mistakes in mailing sensitive information.

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Queries if the Assistance Relocation and Resettlement Programme (ARAP) is open-ended and if the UK will continue to offer assistance for years to come.

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Raises concerns about repeated security breaches and questions the Minister's confidence in his Department’s ability to handle sensitive information.

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Inquires about the Department's provision of extraction advice or guidance to those currently hiding in Afghanistan.

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Raises a case of an Afghan contractor whose wife was shot by the Taliban; asks if this man is eligible for ARAP and requests personal follow-up.

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Requests a definitive list of ARAP applications received, being processed, and approved.

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Questions if there is a systemic problem with data security in the MOD and what steps will be taken to ensure safety.

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Asks about future improvements in information security standards, particularly with allies, for similar operations.

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An Afghan family I saw at my surgery yesterday told me that a relative working with coalition forces had been blown to bits by the Taliban. Other relatives are similarly at risk, but their response from the MOD says they are not eligible for ARAP. Despite only having four replies out of over 100 live cases, what should be done next if these people are accepted on the scheme?

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The right hon. Member inquires about the Secretary of State’s commitment to update the House after the recess on the additional threats and intimidation that Afghan nationals face due to the data breach.

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Asking people simply to change their email address seems inadequate given names can be extracted. What additional security advice has been provided to interpreters on the email list and their families?

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The breach, while within the MOD, prompts questions about discussions with counterparts at the Foreign Office and Home Office. How does the Ministry of Defence ensure correct information is shared across departments to assist those they have a duty to help?

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An 18-year-old woman married to a British constituent whose father worked as a translator for other allied countries faces being left behind in Kabul, exacerbated by this data breach. What discussions has the Secretary of State had regarding supporting such vulnerable citizens?

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The Secretary of State is thanked for his dedication and answering questions. In Northern Ireland, there are individuals aware of the feeling of having a home endangered. What has been done to help those who responded with personal details relocate quickly and safely?