
Ex-Tory minister says Afghan resettlement scheme was ‘most hapless display of ineptitude' he saw in government
Date: 2025-07-16T07:09:49.000Z
Title: Dan Sabbagh
Content: Good morning. Normally when ministers make announcements in the House of Commons, we know at least some of the detail already because they been well trailed in advance. Yesterday was a rare example of a ministerial statement being used to reveal something utterly surprising and genuinely new (at least to anyone who had not seen the stories that dropped just 30 minutes earlier, when reporting restrictions were lifted). And this was a story about the murky operation of the Deep State. Here is our overnight story, by and Emine Sinmaz.
Today attention is focusing on who is to blame. And two former Tory ministers are having their say in rival articles in the Daily Telegraph.
Ben Wallace, who was defence secretary when the leak happened, has used his article to defend going to court to stop the inadvertent release of names being reported. He said:
I make no apology for applying to the court for an injunction at the time. It was not, as some are childishly trying to claim, a cover up.
I took the view that if this leak was reported at the time, the existence of the list would put in peril those we needed to help out.
Some may disagree but imagine if the Taliban had been alerted to the existence of this list. I would dread to think what would have happened.
Wallace has also been on the Today programme this morning, and he insisted he was not to blame for the injunction being a superinjunction. He said:
When we applied in August 2023, when I was secretary of state, we didn't apply for superinjunction. We applied for a four-month injunction, a normal injunction.
Wallace said it was the court that converted this into a superinjunction (meaning not just that the leak could not be reported, but the very existence of an injunction gagging the media could also not be reported). Wallace claimed he did not know why.
In his article Wallace largely defends the decisions taken by the previous government, but Johnny Mercer, who was veterans ministers in the same government (but not in the MoD – he worked out of the Cabinet Office), is very critical of the way the whole Afghan resettlement programme was handled. In his Telegraph article he said:
Whilst there will no doubt be a rush to blame the individual who sent it (I know who he is), it would be entirely unfair and wrong to do so. Because I can honestly say this whole farcical process has been the most hapless display of ineptitude by successive ministers and officials that I saw in my time in government, of which this poor individual was just the end of the line …
The MoD has tried at every turn to cut off those from Afghan special forces units from coming to the UK, for reasons I cannot fathom.
They also lied to themselves about doing it. The UK's director of Special Forces told me personally that he was offended and angry by my suggestion that his organisation was blocking the Triples.
Certain MoD ministers had a criminal lack of professional curiosity as to why the Triples [members of the Afghan special forces] were being rejected when there were so many subject matter experts who said they clearly should be eligible.
They even tried for a long time to say that Afghan special forces were not eligible.
Mercer said the UK ended up letting the wrong people in.
And the net result of this spectacular cluster is that we've let into this country thousands with little or tenuous links to the UK, and still some Afghan special forces we set up the bloody schemes for, remain trapped in Afghanistan, Pakistan or worse, Iran.
I feel furious, sad and bitter about the whole thing, and do as much as I can to get through each day not thinking about Afghanistan.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Liz Kendall, work and pensions secretary, gives evidence to the Commons work and pensions committee.
10am: David Lammy, foreign secretary, gives evidence to the Commons international development committee.
Noon: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
Noon: The Home Office is publishing a report by David Anderson KC into the Prevent programme.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can't read all the messages BTL, but if you put 'Andrew' in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can't promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
16 minutes ago
- The Sun
Teen woman, 18, suffers life-changing injuries after ‘getting hair caught in funfair ride'
A TEENAGER, 18, has been rushed to hospital with potentially life-changing injuries after her hair got caught in a funfair ride. Emergency services were called to Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show at 10.53pm on Saturday. A bystander who helped the teen told the BBC: "One of the girl's friends came down and said how serious it was and some of us offered assistance. "It's very shocking it could happen on a fairground ride that young children go on. This must never happen again." A Health and Safety Executive spokesperson said the incident was "local authority enforced and with Hampshire police". 1 is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.


Reuters
16 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump says US is close to reaching a trade deal with China
TURNBERRY, Scotland, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday his administration was close to reaching a trade deal with China, but gave no other details. "We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes," Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland.


Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Woman, 18, is left with life-changing injuries after 'her hair got stuck in fun fair ride'
A woman, 18, has been left with life-changing injuries after her hair got stuck in a fun fair ride. The horrifying incident happened at Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show in the village of Netley Marsh, Hampshire, just before 11pm yesterday. It came after the woman reportedly got her hair trapped in a set of moving rollers on the floor of the Fun House ride, a witness said, according to The Standard. Nurse Emma Perry luckily happened to be on hand to help when the girl's friend rushed off the ride desperate for assistance with attending to her terrible injuries. The practitioner, 51, who works at nearby Southampton General Hospital, said the woman was bleeding, 'screaming' and 'clearly very distressed' after 'three-quarters' of her scalp had been 'ripped off', The Echo reports. This is known as a 'degloving incident', when skin and soft tissue are torn from the muscle, connective tissue or bone underneath them. The highly serious injury often causes massive blood loss and tissue death - and can be fatal. Emergency services rushed the teen to hospital, after a section of the ride had to be cut by firefighters to extract her. Event organiser Charles Cole dubbed it a 'freak accident', which is under investigation. He continued: 'Nobody wants to hurt anyone, and we are a family business. Last night was very upsetting, especially for the man who owns the ride. 'Safety is our priority, and we sympathise with the girl and her parents.' The ride was closed for the rest of the three-day fair, which ended today. But a post on the fair's Facebook page said today: 'Good morning from day three of the show. 'Despite what you may have read or seen online, we are open and look forward to seeing you all!' Nurse Ms Perry, who had been a visitor at the funfair with her 17-year-old daughter, recalled she 'cradled' the girl's head and talked to her as first responders worked. She described the incident as 'traumatic', adding: 'I stayed with her, that is all I did really. I really feel for her and her family, they are the main priority.' The nurse questioned if funfairs like this are safe in the wake of the incident and hoped the woman made a full recovery, emphasising this should never happen again. Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show, held on Meadow Mead Farm in the New Forest, near the town of Totton, has been held annually since 1971. It offers a range of attractions, including shows of steam engines, classic cars, motorcycles, horses and commercial, farm and works vehicles. There are also steam engine models, jousting tournaments, children's entertainers, dog agility courses, falconry shows and more. Hampshire county councillor David Harrison said he is 'shocked and saddened' by the incident. The Marchwood and Totton South representative added: 'I am sure it will be properly investigated and any necessary action taken. 'My thoughts are with the injured person, family and friends.' A Hampshire Police spokesperson said: 'We were called at 10.53pm on July 26 with reports that an 18-year-old woman had sustained potentially life-changing injuries to her head while on a ride at Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show. 'She was taken to hospital for treatment. 'Police attended and have liaised with the Health and Safety Executive.' Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show has been approached for comment.