Devastating Afghan data breach a huge failing by Government, says former Army captain Doug Beattie
Doug Beattie, who was awarded the Military Cross for his actions in Afghanistan, said the breach was 'devastating' for the thousands of Afghans who helped UK forces against the Taliban.
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Spectator
20 hours ago
- Spectator
Is David Williams the MoD's fall guy?
Yesterday the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that its permanent secretary, David Williams, will be stepping down in a matter of weeks. He has served for just over four years, almost exactly the average tenure of his predecessors since the department was created in 1964, but it is difficult to regard the timing as a coincidence. It is still not yet three weeks since the catastrophic loss of data on Afghan nationals and others, and the MoD's use of a super-injunction, were disclosed to parliament by defence secretary John Healey. Williams is not explicitly being sacked: permanent secretaries very rarely are. The Ministry of Defence is being very careful and measured in its language to refer to his impending departure: according to the BBC, Healey had a 'conversation' with Williams before the Afghan data loss story became public knowledge, and 'made clear that this was the right time to make a change'. There is a plausible argument that we should not draw a line directly from the data loss to Williams's departure. The MoD has also briefed that this is 'an appropriate time for a transition' of leadership; under Healey's Defence Reform programme, the senior levels of the Ministry of Defence have been rearranged and streamlined into a 'leadership quad' which will supervise all aspects of defence policy and the armed forces. This is the biggest reorganisation of the MoD for half a century, and it need not be any reflection on Williams that he chooses to step down before implementing the reforms in full, or that the defence secretary would prefer a fresh approach and a new top civil servant. Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton will be taking over as Chief of the Defence Staff next month, while the recruitment for a permanent national armaments director is taking longer than expected. While Madelaine McTernan, Chief of Defence Nuclear, has been in post since 2022, replacing Williams at this stage could make sense. Equally, Williams's departure could be seen as part of a wave of changes at permanent secretary level which often happen in the first year or so of a new government. Simon Case (Cabinet Secretary), Sir Matthew Rycroft (Home Office), Dame Tamara Finkelstein (Defra), Sir Philip Barton (FCDO), Dame Bernadette Kelly (Transport), Sarah Munby (DSIT) and Sir Jim Harra (HMRC) have all left the civil service within the past 12 months. And yet… while the MoD is making no explicit connection between Williams's departure and the data loss, it is hard to escape the feeling that we are being invited to join the dots, and that the permanent secretary is an expiatory offering to the political gods. The whole scandal did, after all, take place on his watch, and he was in charge of the overall management and leadership of the Ministry of Defence, as well as formally being principal accounting officer responsible to parliament. The MoD should under no circumstances be allowed to wipe the slate clean with Williams's departure. There is still a great deal we do not know about the Afghan data loss scandal, though the Intelligence and Security Committee, the House of Commons Defence Committee and the Public Accounts Committee will all be inquiring into the issue. But Williams – whatever his individual culpability – cannot be the fall guy. Even based on what we currently know, the MoD has a shameful inability to prevent the loss of secret data, and data breaches have increased threefold over the past five years. There is also a systemic lack of accountability, particularly in relation to a number of disastrous equipment procurement projects. The readiness with which the department accepted the comfort blanket of a super-injunction for nearly two years speaks to a deeply ingrained culture of secrecy and dislike of scrutiny. The Ministry of Defence is secretive, inefficient, unaccountable and almost pathologically unable to learn from its mistakes. That has been common currency in defence circles for decades, but the Afghan data loss cut through to the consciousness of the wider public. There is now a major issue of public trust, already a rare, valuable but rapidly disappearing commodity. If ministers try to usher Williams off stage, bring in a new permanent secretary and assume that previous disasters can then be written off, they must have their feet held to the fire. This is not a failing individual. This is an ingrained, systemic, cultural malaise. And it has to be fixed.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
MoD chief to leave in wake of Afghan data breach
The chief civil servant at the Ministry of Defence will be replaced in the wake of the Afghan data breach, the department has move follows one of the worst UK data breaches for decades being revealed to the public earlier this month, in a major embarrassment for defence and intelligence leak, which went undetected for months and was then subject to a super-injunction, put the identities of British spies, soldiers, and vulnerable Afghan allies at Secretary David Williams will leave this autumn and recruitment for his successor has started, the MoD confirmed. The BBC understands Williams' departure was agreed before the leak became leak happened when an official working at UK Special Forces headquarters accidentally emailed out a spreadsheet containing the personal details of almost 19,000 people seeking refuge from the with the Afghan nationals, the details of more than 100 British officials were compromised, including special forces and MI6 personnel, in February injunction blocked reporting of the matter until it was lifted earlier this MP and chairman of the defence select committee, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, said Mr Williams' "many years of dedicated public service deserve respect", notwithstanding the seriousness of the leak."While our committee has agreed to inquire into this shocking situation, we have yet to determine the full scope for that, including who will be called to give evidence," he added."The fact that this breach has put at risk our courageous British service personnel and the Afghans who bravely supported them, makes the situation even more shocking."I am sure the committee will want to investigate and understand how this could have been allowed to happen."An MoD spokesperson said on Friday: "Permanent Secretary David Williams will step down this autumn and the recruitment process for his successor is under way."Since 2021, David has led the department through a period of significant activity, and we thank him for his contribution." Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
The National
2 days ago
- The National
Top MoD civil servant quits after major Afghan data breach
An MoD spokesperson said on Friday: 'Permanent Secretary David Williams will step down this autumn and the recruitment process for his successor is under way. 'Since 2021, David has led the department through a period of significant activity, and we thank him for his contribution.' Williams was appointed as MoD Permanent Secretary in April 2021. It comes after the department faced questions over a data breach in which a defence official released details of almost 19,000 people seeking to flee Afghanistan after the return of the Taliban. READ MORE: Father of boy, 8, sexually assaulted in tent in Loch Ness saw suspect 'walk away' Along with the Afghan nationals, the details of more than 100 British officials were compromised, including special forces and MI6 personnel. An injunction blocked reporting of the matter until it was lifted earlier this summer. Defence sources have said that details of MI6 spies, SAS and special forces personnel were included in the spreadsheet, after they had endorsed Afghans who had applied to be brought to the UK. The Ministry of Defence became aware of the blunder only when excerpts from the dataset were posted anonymously on a Facebook group in August 2023, and a superinjunction was granted at the High Court in an attempt to prevent the Taliban from finding out about the leak. The leak also led to the creation of the secret Afghanistan Response Route, which is understood to have cost about £400 million so far, with a projected final cost of about £850m. A total of about 6900 people are expected to be relocated by the end of the scheme. The official responsible for the email error was moved to a new role but not sacked. The superinjunction was in place for almost two years, covering Labour and Conservative governments. Labour MP and chairman of the defence select committee, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, said: 'Defence permanent secretary David Williams' many years of dedicated public service deserve respect. 'It's not yet clear whether his decision to step down is linked to the recently revealed Afghan data breach. READ MORE: Archaeologists battle to save 1000-year-old island broch from falling into sea 'However, what is clear is that this grave failure of data protection demands proper scrutiny, which the defence committee certainly intends to provide. 'While our committee has agreed to inquire into this shocking situation, we have yet to determine the full scope for that, including who will be called to give evidence. 'The fact that this breach has put at risk our courageous British service personnel and the Afghans who bravely supported them, makes the situation even more shocking. 'I am sure the committee will want to investigate and understand how this could have been allowed to happen.'
