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Of course MPs could have spoken out about the Afghan leak
Of course MPs could have spoken out about the Afghan leak

Telegraph

time3 days ago

  • Politics
  • Telegraph

Of course MPs could have spoken out about the Afghan leak

'Parliamentary privilege' is the collection of rights enjoyed by MPs and peers which allow them to carry out their role as legislators and scrutineers of government. One of the most important aspects of privilege is freedom of speech: simply put, MPs cannot face legal action as a result of anything they say as part of parliamentary proceedings. This protection stems from the Bill of Rights 1688, one of the foundational texts of Britain's constitutional arrangements. Article IX says: 'That the Freedome of Speech and Debates or Proceedings in Parlyament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any Court or Place out of Parlyament.' This is a broad protection, and it is absolute. Yet Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, and former home secretary Suella Braverman seem to be saying that they opposed the super-injunction which kept a two-year veil of secrecy over the Ministry of Defence's recently revealed Afghan data loss. They would have spoken out against it, but could have been prosecuted, so Jenrick says, under the Official Secrets Act 1989. It is hard to see how this can be true. So long as they had expressed their concerns as part of 'proceedings in Parliament', for example in the chamber of the House of Commons, they would have been protected by parliamentary privilege. In this respect, there is nothing 'special' about the Official Secrets Act, nothing within the legislation which gives it a particular status which overrides privilege. A select committee concluded in 1939 that Duncan Sandys, the young Conservative Member for Norwood, would not have been liable under the Official Secrets Act for disclosing classified information he had received about anti-aircraft weapons if he had done so in a parliamentary setting (the 'Sandys case'). Privilege would have protected him from prosecution. This position was upheld by the Committee of Privileges in 1987, and by the Joint Committee on Parliamentary Privilege in 1999, which concluded 'We recommend no action should be taken to limit freedom of speech in respect of breaches of the Official Secrets Acts in the course of proceedings in Parliament'. In evidence to the joint committee, the then-attorney general, John Morris, supplied a memorandum to which he attached a note written by his predecessor, Sir Donald Somervell, in 1939 in relation to the Sandys case. 'I would respectfully agree with his conclusion… that a statement by a Member in the course of debate or proceedings in Parliament, which would otherwise amount to an unlawful disclosure under the Official Secrets Acts 1911 and 1920, could not be made the subject of proceedings in the courts. The same must be true… for the Official Secrets Act 1989.' The existence of a super-injunction does not affect the situation either. In 2011, the Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming violated a super-injunction which footballer Ryan Giggs had been granted to conceal an extra-marital affair with his brother's wife. Questioning the then-Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, on privacy injunctions, Hemming said: 'With about 75,000 people having named Ryan Giggs on Twitter, it is obviously impracticable to imprison them all…' The Speaker, John Bercow, reminded him that the question was on the principle of these instruments, but Hemming faced no legal or disciplinary sanction – he was protected by parliamentary privilege. The principle is very clear and well-established: MPs cannot be subject to civil or criminal proceedings on the basis of what they say in Parliament. That is what Article IX is for. If Jenrick or Braverman have received contrary advice, we need to know that, because it would strike at a basic constitutional principle. If they have not, they should explain why they are mistakenly claiming that they were effectively gagged.

Tory ex-ministers defend record as pressure mounts after Afghan data leak
Tory ex-ministers defend record as pressure mounts after Afghan data leak

Glasgow Times

time3 days ago

  • Politics
  • Glasgow Times

Tory ex-ministers defend record as pressure mounts after Afghan data leak

Members of the previous administration are distancing themselves from the handling of a breach which saw a defence official release the details of nearly 19,000 people seeking to flee Kabul. Shadow justice secretary and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick said he first learned of the 2022 data breach after a legal gagging order had been put in place the following year. Johnny Mercer claimed he had 'receipts' relating to the previous government's handling of Afghanistan (Andrew Matthews/PA) Former home secretary Suella Braverman said there is 'much more that needs to be said about the conduct of the MoD (Ministry of Defence), both ministers and officials' and that she was not involved in the superinjunction decision. Ex-veterans minister Johnny Mercer claimed he had 'receipts' regarding the previous government's actions in relation to Kabul but said it was 'absurd' to accuse him of failing to grasp the scale of the crisis. 'I know who is covering their tracks, and who has the courage to be honest,' he said. 'I would caution those who might attempt to rewrite history.' Thousands of people are being relocated to the UK as part of an £850 million scheme set up after the leak, which was kept secret as a result of a superinjunction imposed in 2023 which was only lifted on Tuesday. At Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir Starmer insisted there would be scrutiny of the decision, telling MPs: 'Ministers who served under the party opposite have serious questions to answer about how this was ever allowed to happen.' Former prime minister Liz Truss, who was foreign secretary at the time of the breach in February 2022, but a backbencher when the superinjunction was sought, said she was 'shocked' by the 'cover-up'. She said the revelations pointed to a 'huge betrayal of public trust' and 'those responsible in both governments and the bureaucracy need to be held to account'. Mr Mercer said: 'I've spilt my own blood fighting for a better Afghanistan, lost friends, fought to get operators out of the country and away from the Taliban, and visited hundreds of resettled families and hotels in the UK under direct commission from the previous prime minister after the schemes were dangerously failing. 'Others were with me in this process and we have all the receipts.' Shadow justice secretary Mr Jenrick said he had 'strongly opposed plans to bring over' thousands of Afghan nationals during 'internal government discussions in the short period before my resignation' in December 2023. 'I first learned of the data leak and plan to resettle people after the superinjunction was in place,' he said. 'Parliamentary privilege is not unlimited; I was bound by the Official Secrets Act.' Mr Jenrick said the secret scheme had been 'a complete disaster' and that the previous government 'made serious mistakes' but that 'thousands more (Afghan people) have come since Labour came to power'. Defence Secretary John Healey wrote in the Daily Express that he had closed the scheme because it was 'unsustainable for the taxpayer, unfair for parliament and disproportionate to the threat'. The Commons Defence Committee will be setting out plans for an inquiry straight after the parliamentary recess in September. Former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace (Ben Birchall/PA) A dataset of 18,714 who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme was released in February 2022 by a defence official who emailed a file outside authorised government systems. The Ministry of Defence only became aware of the blunder 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. Then-defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace said he had applied for a four-month standard injunction shortly before leaving office but, on September 1 2023, when Grant Shapps took the role, the government was given a superinjunction. Mr Shapps has not yet publicly commented on the revelations. Sir Ben has insisted he makes 'no apology' for applying for the initial injunction, saying it was motivated by the need to protect people in Afghanistan whose safety was at risk. The leak led to the creation of a secret Afghan relocation scheme – the Afghanistan Response Route – in April 2024. The scheme is understood to have cost about £400 million so far, with a projected final cost of about £850 million. The key facts on the Afghan Resettlement data incident that took place in 2022, and the action we are taking to support those impacted. Defence Minister @LukePollard explains 👇 — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) July 16, 2025 A total of about 6,900 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. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has apologised on behalf of the Conservatives for the leak, telling LBC: 'On behalf of the government and on behalf of the British people, yes, because somebody made a terrible mistake and names were put out there … and we are sorry for that.'

Tory ex-ministers defend record as pressure mounts after Afghan data leak
Tory ex-ministers defend record as pressure mounts after Afghan data leak

North Wales Chronicle

time3 days ago

  • Politics
  • North Wales Chronicle

Tory ex-ministers defend record as pressure mounts after Afghan data leak

Members of the previous administration are distancing themselves from the handling of a breach which saw a defence official release the details of nearly 19,000 people seeking to flee Kabul. Shadow justice secretary and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick said he first learned of the 2022 data breach after a legal gagging order had been put in place the following year. Former home secretary Suella Braverman said there is 'much more that needs to be said about the conduct of the MoD (Ministry of Defence), both ministers and officials' and that she was not involved in the superinjunction decision. Ex-veterans minister Johnny Mercer claimed he had 'receipts' regarding the previous government's actions in relation to Kabul but said it was 'absurd' to accuse him of failing to grasp the scale of the crisis. 'I know who is covering their tracks, and who has the courage to be honest,' he said. 'I would caution those who might attempt to rewrite history.' Thousands of people are being relocated to the UK as part of an £850 million scheme set up after the leak, which was kept secret as a result of a superinjunction imposed in 2023 which was only lifted on Tuesday. At Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir Starmer insisted there would be scrutiny of the decision, telling MPs: 'Ministers who served under the party opposite have serious questions to answer about how this was ever allowed to happen.' Former prime minister Liz Truss, who was foreign secretary at the time of the breach in February 2022, but a backbencher when the superinjunction was sought, said she was 'shocked' by the 'cover-up'. She said the revelations pointed to a 'huge betrayal of public trust' and 'those responsible in both governments and the bureaucracy need to be held to account'. Mr Mercer said: 'I've spilt my own blood fighting for a better Afghanistan, lost friends, fought to get operators out of the country and away from the Taliban, and visited hundreds of resettled families and hotels in the UK under direct commission from the previous prime minister after the schemes were dangerously failing. 'Others were with me in this process and we have all the receipts.' Shadow justice secretary Mr Jenrick said he had 'strongly opposed plans to bring over' thousands of Afghan nationals during 'internal government discussions in the short period before my resignation' in December 2023. 'I first learned of the data leak and plan to resettle people after the superinjunction was in place,' he said. 'Parliamentary privilege is not unlimited; I was bound by the Official Secrets Act.' Mr Jenrick said the secret scheme had been 'a complete disaster' and that the previous government 'made serious mistakes' but that 'thousands more (Afghan people) have come since Labour came to power'. The Commons Defence Committee will be setting out plans for an inquiry straight after the parliamentary recess in September. A dataset of 18,714 who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme was released in February 2022 by a defence official who emailed a file outside authorised government systems. The Ministry of Defence only became aware of the blunder 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. Then-defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace said he had applied for a four-month standard injunction shortly before leaving office but, on September 1 2023, when Grant Shapps took the role, the government was given a superinjunction. Mr Shapps has not yet publicly commented on the revelations. Sir Ben has insisted he makes 'no apology' for applying for the initial injunction, saying it was motivated by the need to protect people in Afghanistan whose safety was at risk. The leak led to the creation of a secret Afghan relocation scheme – the Afghanistan Response Route – in April 2024. The scheme is understood to have cost about £400 million so far, with a projected final cost of about £850 million. The key facts on the Afghan Resettlement data incident that took place in 2022, and the action we are taking to support those impacted. Defence Minister @LukePollard explains 👇 — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) July 16, 2025 A total of about 6,900 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. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has apologised on behalf of the Conservatives for the leak, telling LBC: 'On behalf of the government and on behalf of the British people, yes, because somebody made a terrible mistake and names were put out there … and we are sorry for that.'

Tory ex-ministers defend record as pressure mounts after Afghan data leak
Tory ex-ministers defend record as pressure mounts after Afghan data leak

South Wales Guardian

time3 days ago

  • Politics
  • South Wales Guardian

Tory ex-ministers defend record as pressure mounts after Afghan data leak

Members of the previous administration are distancing themselves from the handling of a breach which saw a defence official release the details of nearly 19,000 people seeking to flee Kabul. Shadow justice secretary and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick said he first learned of the 2022 data breach after a legal gagging order had been put in place the following year. Former home secretary Suella Braverman said there is 'much more that needs to be said about the conduct of the MoD (Ministry of Defence), both ministers and officials' and that she was not involved in the superinjunction decision. Ex-veterans minister Johnny Mercer claimed he had 'receipts' regarding the previous government's actions in relation to Kabul but said it was 'absurd' to accuse him of failing to grasp the scale of the crisis. 'I know who is covering their tracks, and who has the courage to be honest,' he said. 'I would caution those who might attempt to rewrite history.' Thousands of people are being relocated to the UK as part of an £850 million scheme set up after the leak, which was kept secret as a result of a superinjunction imposed in 2023 which was only lifted on Tuesday. At Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir Starmer insisted there would be scrutiny of the decision, telling MPs: 'Ministers who served under the party opposite have serious questions to answer about how this was ever allowed to happen.' Former prime minister Liz Truss, who was foreign secretary at the time of the breach in February 2022, but a backbencher when the superinjunction was sought, said she was 'shocked' by the 'cover-up'. She said the revelations pointed to a 'huge betrayal of public trust' and 'those responsible in both governments and the bureaucracy need to be held to account'. Mr Mercer said: 'I've spilt my own blood fighting for a better Afghanistan, lost friends, fought to get operators out of the country and away from the Taliban, and visited hundreds of resettled families and hotels in the UK under direct commission from the previous prime minister after the schemes were dangerously failing. 'Others were with me in this process and we have all the receipts.' Shadow justice secretary Mr Jenrick said he had 'strongly opposed plans to bring over' thousands of Afghan nationals during 'internal government discussions in the short period before my resignation' in December 2023. 'I first learned of the data leak and plan to resettle people after the superinjunction was in place,' he said. 'Parliamentary privilege is not unlimited; I was bound by the Official Secrets Act.' Mr Jenrick said the secret scheme had been 'a complete disaster' and that the previous government 'made serious mistakes' but that 'thousands more (Afghan people) have come since Labour came to power'. The Commons Defence Committee will be setting out plans for an inquiry straight after the parliamentary recess in September. A dataset of 18,714 who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme was released in February 2022 by a defence official who emailed a file outside authorised government systems. The Ministry of Defence only became aware of the blunder 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. Then-defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace said he had applied for a four-month standard injunction shortly before leaving office but, on September 1 2023, when Grant Shapps took the role, the government was given a superinjunction. Mr Shapps has not yet publicly commented on the revelations. Sir Ben has insisted he makes 'no apology' for applying for the initial injunction, saying it was motivated by the need to protect people in Afghanistan whose safety was at risk. The leak led to the creation of a secret Afghan relocation scheme – the Afghanistan Response Route – in April 2024. The scheme is understood to have cost about £400 million so far, with a projected final cost of about £850 million. The key facts on the Afghan Resettlement data incident that took place in 2022, and the action we are taking to support those impacted. Defence Minister @LukePollard explains 👇 — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) July 16, 2025 A total of about 6,900 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. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has apologised on behalf of the Conservatives for the leak, telling LBC: 'On behalf of the government and on behalf of the British people, yes, because somebody made a terrible mistake and names were put out there … and we are sorry for that.'

Tory ex-ministers defend record as pressure mounts after Afghan data leak
Tory ex-ministers defend record as pressure mounts after Afghan data leak

Rhyl Journal

time3 days ago

  • Politics
  • Rhyl Journal

Tory ex-ministers defend record as pressure mounts after Afghan data leak

Members of the previous administration are distancing themselves from the handling of a breach which saw a defence official release the details of nearly 19,000 people seeking to flee Kabul. Shadow justice secretary and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick said he first learned of the 2022 data breach after a legal gagging order had been put in place the following year. Former home secretary Suella Braverman said there is 'much more that needs to be said about the conduct of the MoD (Ministry of Defence), both ministers and officials' and that she was not involved in the superinjunction decision. Ex-veterans minister Johnny Mercer claimed he had 'receipts' regarding the previous government's actions in relation to Kabul but said it was 'absurd' to accuse him of failing to grasp the scale of the crisis. 'I know who is covering their tracks, and who has the courage to be honest,' he said. 'I would caution those who might attempt to rewrite history.' Thousands of people are being relocated to the UK as part of an £850 million scheme set up after the leak, which was kept secret as a result of a superinjunction imposed in 2023 which was only lifted on Tuesday. At Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir Starmer insisted there would be scrutiny of the decision, telling MPs: 'Ministers who served under the party opposite have serious questions to answer about how this was ever allowed to happen.' Former prime minister Liz Truss, who was foreign secretary at the time of the breach in February 2022, but a backbencher when the superinjunction was sought, said she was 'shocked' by the 'cover-up'. She said the revelations pointed to a 'huge betrayal of public trust' and 'those responsible in both governments and the bureaucracy need to be held to account'. Mr Mercer said: 'I've spilt my own blood fighting for a better Afghanistan, lost friends, fought to get operators out of the country and away from the Taliban, and visited hundreds of resettled families and hotels in the UK under direct commission from the previous prime minister after the schemes were dangerously failing. 'Others were with me in this process and we have all the receipts.' Shadow justice secretary Mr Jenrick said he had 'strongly opposed plans to bring over' thousands of Afghan nationals during 'internal government discussions in the short period before my resignation' in December 2023. 'I first learned of the data leak and plan to resettle people after the superinjunction was in place,' he said. 'Parliamentary privilege is not unlimited; I was bound by the Official Secrets Act.' Mr Jenrick said the secret scheme had been 'a complete disaster' and that the previous government 'made serious mistakes' but that 'thousands more (Afghan people) have come since Labour came to power'. The Commons Defence Committee will be setting out plans for an inquiry straight after the parliamentary recess in September. A dataset of 18,714 who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme was released in February 2022 by a defence official who emailed a file outside authorised government systems. The Ministry of Defence only became aware of the blunder 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. Then-defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace said he had applied for a four-month standard injunction shortly before leaving office but, on September 1 2023, when Grant Shapps took the role, the government was given a superinjunction. Mr Shapps has not yet publicly commented on the revelations. Sir Ben has insisted he makes 'no apology' for applying for the initial injunction, saying it was motivated by the need to protect people in Afghanistan whose safety was at risk. The leak led to the creation of a secret Afghan relocation scheme – the Afghanistan Response Route – in April 2024. The scheme is understood to have cost about £400 million so far, with a projected final cost of about £850 million. The key facts on the Afghan Resettlement data incident that took place in 2022, and the action we are taking to support those impacted. Defence Minister @LukePollard explains 👇 — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) July 16, 2025 A total of about 6,900 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. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has apologised on behalf of the Conservatives for the leak, telling LBC: 'On behalf of the government and on behalf of the British people, yes, because somebody made a terrible mistake and names were put out there … and we are sorry for that.'

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