Inquiry launched after identities of SAS soldiers leaked in fresh data breach
Details about the elite unit, part of UK Special Forces, are usually kept so secret that its members are barred for life from discussing their involvement unless they receive prior approval.
News of the breach comes just days after it emerged the Ministry of Justice had taken out an unprecedented superinjunction after up to 100,000 lives were put at risk of reprisals from the Taliban in a catastrophic data leak.
Around 18,700 Afghans who applied for sanctuary in Britain after the withdrawal of western forces in 2021 had their names and contact details exposed after an MoD official emailed a secret database to trusted contacts in February 2022. A number of SAS members and MI6 operatives were also compromised in the major leak.
In yet another data lapse, the Sunday Times reported that details of at least 20 Special Forces soldiers recruited from the Grenadier Guards have been publicly available online for a decade.
In response, General Sir Roly Walker, the head of the army, has ordered an 'immediate review' of the data sharing arrangements that led to the incident.
At least 20 least 20 SAS members have been named by two different regimental publications over more than a decade, according to the newspaper.
The Grenadier Guards in-house publication included a roll call of the names and current deployments of its most senior officers.
In the latest edition, published last year and available online, the names of ten men in the regiment allegedly appeared next to the codename 'MAB' — shorthand for MoD A Block, which is the site of the UK Special Forces headquarters at the Regent's Park Barracks in London.
The codename is well-known in military circles and means enemies would know which soldiers were linked to an elite unit.
The breaches were first reported in April and while another regiment removed similar publications, the remaining information on the Guards was only taken down on Friday.
Those whose details were compromised have been notified and protected, it is understood.
General Sir Roly Walker said: 'The security of our people is of the utmost importance and we take any breach extremely seriously.
'[As a result of this incident], I have directed an immediate review into our data sharing arrangements with our regimental and corps associations to ensure appropriate guidance and safeguards are in place to best support the vital work they do.'
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The Independent
4 minutes ago
- The Independent
Readers deeply divided on lowering the voting age to 16 – from ‘only fair' to ‘blatant gerrymandering'
The government's decision to lower the voting age to 16 has sparked intense debate among Independent readers, with opinions sharply divided over whether the move strengthens democracy or serves party politics. A poll of readers found that 38 per cent believe it's fair for 16-year-olds to vote, while 62 per cent said they are too young to head to the polls. Critics were quick to dismiss the reform as politically motivated, arguing that most teenagers lack the life experience or political understanding needed to make informed decisions. 'Why not let 13-year-olds vote next?' one reader scoffed, describing the move as 'blatant gerrymandering' by Labour to win over idealistic young voters. Supporters, however, hailed the change as long overdue. Many pointed out that 16-year-olds in the UK can already marry, work, pay taxes and even join the armed forces – so it's only fair they have a say in how the country is run. 'They're more mature than most adults I know,' said one commenter, while others noted that political education in schools has left many young people well-informed and engaged. Some readers proposed a middle ground – such as lowering the age to 17 or linking voting rights to leaving full-time education. Here's what you had to say: If they can marry and work, they should vote Of course they should. If they don't get the vote, they should pay no tax or National Insurance, be banned from joining the military, become a NEET or do anything the government tells them to do at that age. You can get married at 16, have sex at 16, ride a moped at 16, drive a car at 17 (16 for some severely disabled people), and yet Tories do not wish them to have a say in their futures. LadyCrumpsall Should 16-year-olds be trusted with the vote – or is it a step too far? Share your views in the comments below. So much nonsense about how sixteen-year-olds don't have the experience, wisdom, knowledge, etc., etc., etc., to have the vote. Having been politically active for most of my life, the lesson of decades of canvassing is that the majority of adults don't really have the faintest idea what they're voting for, or why. You'd be amazed, for instance, at the number of people who say that they're going to vote for X Party because they think that they'll be the election winners – as if they're backing a horse race. bottlebank 16-year-olds can be more mature than adults Many 16-year-olds I know are more mature than many adults; not all, I appreciate that, but to say they aren't mature enough is ludicrous. If they're allowed to get married, then they're old enough to vote. I welcome this move – it'll modernise the voting system and bring in more points of view. The voting population will be getting older and older, and we'll end up with a load of pensioners making decisions based on 'what's good for me' rather than what's good for the up-and-coming generations. deadduck They've studied politics – they're clued up At the age of 16, students have studied politics as part of community studies. I am old so don't talk to many teenagers, but those that I have spoken to – serving staff in cafés, relatives, etc. – are all pretty clued up and invested in what is their future. They can join the forces at 16, get married at 16 – surely if they are mature enough to do that, they are mature enough to vote? DafB Zero life skills A very small minority are politically aware, most aren't. They have zero life skills, experience of bills, home or car ownership etc. Some will argue they are old enough to join the forces. Yes, where you are told what to do by others. It is clearly an idea of Labour, backed up by the Liberals and Greens, to gain a potential two million more votes – all three being poor or struggling in the polls. Sooperhooper Most kids don't care – but neither do adults I don't think most kids today give a darn about politics or are educated well enough to know what's at stake. I'd even go so far as to say that many adults aren't educated well enough to understand the same things. We're at a critical junction in world history and politics. We must make wise choices and hope those who make the laws are of good heart and want to represent their actual constituents. At the moment, and with a somewhat cynical eye, it doesn't look that way. AwareReader Wait until they've left school My thoughts are they could have the voting age dropped to 17 years after they have left school and found out what the world of work is all about. Also, in the final year at secondary school they have education in politics and the voting system. Billydes Open to influence In my experience, teenagers have little in the way of original thought when it comes to politics. Lacking experience, they're still malleable and open to influence, and it would be easy to see how their thinking could be influenced by others who have a darker agenda. RickC Five reasons for Yes 16-year-olds should vote. Why? Because: It should encourage an interest in politics and democracy. It might stop some claiming, "What's the point – no-one listens to us..." It seemingly only has a marginal effect on outcomes in any case. It'll focus politicians on our future – our yoof. Although our youngsters are often a tad idealistic – i.e. leftish – that's fair enough, as it should help counter the barmy rightie oldies. :-) DevsAd They live with the consequences Young people have the most to vote for, as they are voting for their future. They are the ones who will have to live through the impact of their vote, which will mostly impact (though not entirely) those who are of working age. Legally, people aged 16 can work, pay taxes, join the military, have children, etc. – then it is only right that they get a say in the running of the country. Those complaining are all moaning about "woke leftie kids voting", but I can assure you they won't be voting Labour! SoMrHarris E lectoral gerrymandering If 16, why not 15? If 15, why not 14? If 14, why not 13? Where is the cut-off? My 7-year-old pays taxes in the form of VAT every time she uses her pocket money to buy something. Should she be allowed to vote? Labour simply has no convincing logical argument in favour of extending the franchise to 16-year-olds, especially given that we as a society currently think they are too immature to buy fireworks, get tattoos, open a bank account, gamble, pawn something in a pawn shop, and view pornography. Yet we are supposed to buy into the notion that they should be allowed to help choose the next government "because they can pay taxes". It is blatant and desperate electoral gerrymandering of the most partisan kind, from a man who promised to "put country before party". Labour appears to have belatedly bought into the idea that there is an emerging crisis of legitimacy in politics that has been brewing for decades. Their publicly-stated analysis of the cause of this crisis is frankly laughable. Do they seriously believe that this crisis can be fixed by managerial tinkering with the electoral process? That people think politicians are duplicitous troughers only because 16 and 17-year-olds are not more engaged with politics? It is nonsense. The issue is that people see politicians continually lying, gaslighting, claiming they will do one thing while literally doing the exact opposite, and generally serving their own agenda rather than that of voters, who they treat with barely disguised contempt. Will giving 16-year-olds the vote solve that? Of course not. It will make it worse. sj99 I trust my teenage son more than some voters My son was 17 this week. He is sane, smart, sober, politically aware and I would back his judgement in a polling booth ahead of any Reform UK voter of any age. SteveHill Why not? Why not? They are at least as intelligent and mature as the pensioner gammons who voted for Brexit. I suggest that as well as lowering the voting age, we should insist on a mental competence test for people over seventy – just like you need to renew your driving licence beyond that age – and I speak as a seventy-two-year-old.
BBC News
5 minutes ago
- BBC News
Epping asylum hotel protests sees one man appear in court
A 51-year-old man has appeared before magistrates charged with violent disorder outside a hotel housing asylum took place outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, on Thursday and Sunday, where police officers were injured during worker Dean Smith of Madells in Epping was charged with one offence of using or threatening the use of unlawful entered no plea at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court and was remanded in custody to appear at the city's crown court in August. District Judge Christopher Williams was told of a WhatsApp group with 600 members who were planning to attend the of people gathered on Thursday, with a smaller group of people holding a pro-refugee demonstration at the same Connor, representing the Crown Prosecution Service, told the court the gathering of those opposing the housing of asylum seekers was initially peaceful, but "quickly escalated" into violent disorder, with fireworks, eggs and bottles being than 100 police officers attended, Ms Connor said, and officers became "overwhelmed" by the Conner said Mr Smith - who works full-time for Waitrose - had attended the protest on Thursday and returned on the Sunday, when he was arrested after being identified on several pieces of Mr Smith, Richard Moughton said his client had attended for a "peaceful protest", and on the Thursday he had returned home before a police dispersal order was put in is due to appear for a plea hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court on 18 August. Another protest staged on Sunday was attended by more than 1,000 people, with projectiles thrown towards police vans blocking the hotel Smith is the second person to appear before magistrates in connection with protests at the Silk, 33, of Torrington Drive in Loughton, Essex, appeared before Southend Magistrates' Court on Monday to deny violent disorder, but entered no plea to another charge of criminally damaging a sign at the hotel by shaking was released on conditional bail, forbidding him from entering Epping and attending any protest in the UK, and will also appear before Chelmsford Crown Court on 18 demonstrations followed a man living in the hotel being charged with sexual assault, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual Kebatu, 41, from Ethiopia, has denied the offences and was remanded in custody during a hearing on Conservative MPs in Essex - Neil Hudson and Alex Burghart - called for the hotel to be closed, while the Tory leader of Epping Forest District Council, Chris Whitbread, described it as a "powder keg" situation. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
5 minutes ago
- BBC News
Prison guards laughed and joked before inmate died
Prison officers were caught on body cam footage laughing and joking while restraining an inmate who later died, an inquest has Dawes-Clarke, 28, was serving time at HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent when he suffered multiple cardiac arrests, both during and after the incident on 10 November 2021. The father-of-four had tied a ligature around his neck before officers intervened and began an "inappropriate and disproportionate" restraint which "escalated unnecessarily", the court was at Kent and Medway Coroners Court in Maidstone concluded that officers had showed a "deeply concerning lack of care and compassion" throughout. Staff were captured on video joking about the size of the handcuffs they needed for Dawes-Clarke as he writhed and screamed on the floor."Animalistic" language was also used, with the inmate being described by officers as being "like a bucking bronco". The inquest also revealed handcuffs were wrongly applied, with jurors finding it "inappropriate for paramedics to have approved the handcuffing" given their lack of training to administer such added there were "significant shortcomings" from all present in response to Dawes-Clarke's medical emergency and him subsequently going limp. He went on to suffer two more cardiac arrests in the ambulance to the hospital, followed by a fourth and final one upon arrival. The inquest found that "throughout the restraint, the proximity of one prison officer's knee to Dawes-Clarke's chest was bad practice". "On top of this, leadership was lacking and control of (the prisoner's) head was not prioritised".Along with the initial self-ligature, this "combination of factors" was cited as having led to Dawes-Clarke's death - the medical cause of which was a lack of oxygen and/or blood flow to the the inquest, his sister Shay Inico said he had died "in the most shocking circumstances - restrained, neglected, and dehumanised while prison staff and paramedics who were trained to save lives stood by and did nothing". Assistant coroner for Kent Ian Brownhill has commissioned three separate prevention of future deaths reports as a result of this case.A HM Prison Service spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Azroy Dawes-Clarke."Since this incident we have taken action to improve staff training around use of force, and we will now carefully consider the inquest's findings in full."
