Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi presses ministers for answers on Afghan data breach

The Defence Committee chair has challenged gaps in the Government's response on accountability, relocation and parliamentary scrutiny.

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi has pressed the Government to clarify five unresolved issues arising from the Ministry of Defence's Afghan data breach and relocation schemes.

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP. Photo: UK Parliament (official portrait).
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP. Photo: UK Parliament (official portrait).

The Defence Committee published the Government's formal response to its July report alongside a letter from Dhesi warning that ministers had not always made clear whether recommendations were accepted, rejected or unanswered.

The committee wants a single action plan covering outstanding work and a clearer account of responsibility for data-protection risks before the breach. It also seeks assurance about decision-making as the relocation programme closes.

MPs asked what support will be available to eligible Afghans who cannot move safely, lawfully or affordably without assistance. The committee said the response did not explain what would happen in those cases.

Dhesi also challenged the Government's refusal to accept a recommendation for principles governing future cases where legal secrecy restricts ordinary parliamentary scrutiny for a prolonged period.

The original breach involved personal data belonging to thousands of Afghan applicants for UK relocation and their families. The committee's inquiry examined both how the breach happened and decisions made under an unprecedented injunction.

The latest publication records a formal dispute over the adequacy of the response rather than a new finding that every recommendation has been rejected. Dhesi has asked ministers to state explicitly where they do not intend to act and to explain why.

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  • published this page in News 2026-10-16 19:54:17 +0100

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Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi presses ministers for answers on Afghan data breach

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi presses ministers for answers on Afghan data breach