Latest news with #Tory
Powys County Times
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Former defence secretary Ben Wallace makes ‘no apology' for Afghan injunction
A former Tory defence secretary has said he makes 'no apology' for applying for an injunction blocking reporting about the leak of data on Afghans who supported British forces. Thousands of people are being relocated to the UK as part of a secret £850 million scheme set up after the breach. Sir Ben Wallace said the decision to apply for the gagging order was 'not a cover-up' and that if the leak had been reported it would have 'put in peril those we needed to help out'. It came as Defence Secretary John Healey said the person involved in the leak was 'no longer doing the same job'. A dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) was released 'in error' in February 2022 by a defence official. The Ministry of Defence only became aware of the breach 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 finding out about the leak. Writing in the Telegraph, Sir Ben said that when he was informed of the 'error' he was 'determined that the first priority was to protect all those that might be at risk'. '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,' he said. '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.' Sir Ben left office shortly after the then-government became aware of the breach, having announced some time earlier that he intended to step down as defence secretary. 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 around £400 million so far, with a projected final cost of about £850 million. A total of around 6,900 people are expected to be relocated by the end of the scheme. It is understood that the unnamed official emailed the data outside a secure government system while attempting to verify information, believing the dataset to only have around 150 rows. However, more than 33,000 rows of information were inadvertently sent. Downing Street declined to say on Tuesday whether the official involved had faced disciplinary action or was still employed by the Government. Mr Healey later told the News Agents podcast that 'they are no longer doing the same job on the Afghan brief' and 'this is bigger than the actions of a single individual'. Pushed on whether anybody had lost their job, Mr Healey said: 'I'm actually not going to get into the personnel matters.' The injunction was in place for almost two years, covering Labour and Conservative governments. Mr Healey offered a 'sincere apology' on behalf of the Government in the Commons on Tuesday, and said he had been 'deeply uncomfortable' being unable to speak about it in Parliament. Kemi Badenoch said sorry on behalf of the Conservatives. Speaking to LBC on Tuesday evening, the Tory leader was asked whether she would apologise on behalf of the Conservatives who were in office at the time of the breach. She said: '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. 'That should not happen. And this is one of the tough things about, you know, being a minister, which is why even the Government – the Labour Government, now this didn't happen when they were in power – they are apologising as well.' Between 80,000 and 100,000 people, including the estimated number of family members of the Arap applicants, were affected by the breach and could be at risk of harassment, torture or death if the Taliban obtained their data, judges said in June 2024. However an independent review, commissioned by the Government in January 2025, concluded last month that the dataset is 'unlikely to significantly shift Taliban understanding of individuals who may be of interest to them'.
Rhyl Journal
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Rhyl Journal
Cleverly hits out at populist ‘fantasy' amid London mayor bid speculation
The former home secretary said calls to 'smash the system' and 'start again from scratch' were 'complete nonsense' in a speech making the case for greater accountability through realistic Whitehall reforms. Sir James also declined to explicitly rule out a bid for City Hall or another run for the party leadership as he was questioned about his political future following his defeat in the contest to replace Rishi Sunak last year. But he said he had 'reconciled' himself with the result of the 2024 Tory leadership race and said the party should stop 'cycling through leaders'. Appearing at the Institute For Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank on Tuesday, the senior backbencher called for greater accountability in politics by reducing the 'cloud of quangos' in the system. Sir James said the 'go-to excuse for populist politicians' is to pretend 'difficult choices and trade-offs don't exist' and attack the Civil Service. 'I have lost count of the number of political gurus who said we should smash the system and start again from scratch,' he told the audience. 'Tempting though that may be, it is totally unrealistic, because all we need to do to deliver that is mobilise the alternative, anti-woke, right-wing civil service that's waiting in the wings to take things over when the Civil Service that we currently have is got rid of. 'Simple. It's also a fantasy. It's a complete nonsense. It's excuse-making, and it's weak.' Instead, he said further action was needed to tackle the 'tangle of quangos, commissioners, panels advisory bodies, all making decisions, almost none of whom have been voted for, and none of whom can be voted out.' Delighted to welcome @JamesCleverly to @IPPR – he is arguing for more honesty and more accountability in politics. — Harry Quilter-Pinner (@harry_qp) July 15, 2025 He warned a 'disconnect between decision-making and accountability' introduces 'moral hazard' and 'erodes the very institutions upon which we rely'. In a Q&A following the speech, the former Cabinet minister insisted he had 'reconciled' himself to his defeat at the leadership election and would not 'jump' into his next career move as he faced questions about his future. Asked whether he was eyeing a bid for London mayor, another run for the Tory leadership or planning to remain on the back benches, he said: 'I like being in government. 'I don't like being in opposition, which is why I'm clear that I will play my part in helping to get Conservatives back into government, at every level of government. 'Exactly what I do next? I've forced a discipline on myself which is not to jump at something. 'I ran for leader. I didn't get it. I reconciled myself to that and I promised myself that I would spend some time thinking about exactly what I would do next. 'I know everyone will write into that 'Cleverly refuses to discount dot dot dot' – nothing I can do about that, you're going to write what you're going to write. 'But the simple fact of the matter is, I am focused on what I've always focused on, which is getting a Conservative government at every level to serve the British people, and that's my mission.' He sought to strike an optimistic note about the future of the Conservative Party as it flounders in the polls, arguing it is 'the oldest and most successful political movement in human history' because 'we adapt, we evolve, we fight back'. Sir James acknowledged opinion poll momentum for Reform posed a challenge for the Tories, but insisted Nigel Farage's party faced its own dilemma in seeking to be both 'new' and 'a repository for disgruntled former Conservatives'. The rise of Reform is not unique to the UK, @JamesCleverly tells @harry_qp. "'Smash the system' is an excuse, it's an easy way of ducking the problem" he says. — IPPR (@IPPR) July 15, 2025 The senior Tory said: 'If their sales pitch is 'we're not like the old political parties', but they are mainly populated with people from my party, it's going to be really hard for them to reconcile that sales pitch.' He hit out at former party members defecting to Reform, adding: 'I don't think it's smart. I don't think it's right. 'I think people lose credibility, particularly with people who have… very, very recently (stood as Conservatives) who then basically say 'the thing that made me realise I wasn't really a Tory was being booted out of office by the electorate'.' Reflecting on his Tory leadership bid and whether he still harboured ambitions for the top job, he said: 'We have got to get out of this habit of cycling through leaders in the hope that ditching this one and picking a new one will make life easy for us.'
Daily Mirror
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Sex chatbots show danger AI could be used to plan terror attacks, watchdog warns
In his annual report Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said the popularity of sex-chatbots should serve as a warning to counter-terror chiefs Terrorists will use AI to plan atrocities with "chatbot radicalisation", a counter-terror watchdog has warned. Jonathan Hall KC said artiticial intelligence could be used for propaganda, attack planning and spreading disinformation which may trigger acts violence. The independent reviewer of terrorism legislation said new laws may be needed to ban software designed to stir up racial or religious hatred. Mr Hall said terrorist chatbots already exist "presented as fun and satirical models". In his annual report he said: "The popularity of sex-chatbots is a warning that terrorist chatbots could provide a new radicalisation dynamic, with all the legal difficulties that follow in pinning liability on machines and their creators." The report pointed to the case of Jaswant Singh Chail, who climbed into the grounds of Windsor Castle in 2021 armed with a crossbow. He had conversed with a chatbot called Sarai about planning the attack. More widely, Mr Hall said "generative artificial intelligence's ability to create text, images and sounds will be exploited by terrorists". It comes as MPs were told that identifying extremists from their online activity is "not an exact art". Robin Simcox, the UK's Commissioner for Countering Extremism, said the internet gives an "unbelievable boon" to terror groups. But he told members of the Home Affairs Select Committee that the internet is "not the only show in town" - with many radicalised by a combination of online and offline influences. Lord David Anderson, Interim Commissioner of the Prevent programme - which counters the threat of extremism - said that that the average age of those referred is now 16. Lord Anderson, who will today(WED) publish a long-awaited report into Prevent's effectiveness, said 40% of referrals are aged 11 to 15. This will examine the cases of Southport killer Axel Rudakabana and Ali Harbi Ali, who murdered Tory MP David Amess in 2021. He told MPs his report will look at changes made to the Prevent programme in light of the horrific violence by perpetrators who had previously been referred.
The National
16 hours ago
- Business
- The National
Scottish Tories in cronyism row as THIRD ex-spin doctor gets public cash
The SNP have described it as a 'jobs for the boys scandal'. We previously reported on now the Scottish Tories shelled out more than £150,000 of taxpayer money on media training — all of which went to firms run by two of the party's former spin doctors. An analysis of the Scottish Parliament's expenses register showed that Gen Comms Limited, which is run by former Tory director of media Ramsay Jones, raked in £118,200 from training the 31 Scottish Tory MSPs, including both 'individual' and 'group' broadcast training. READ MORE: Pro-Palestine protesters drive van through fence of arms firm factory in Edinburgh Meanwhile Shorthand PR, run by the Scottish Tories' former head of media Adam Morris, pocketed £26,000. This funding was raised through contributions from Scottish Tory MSPs' support budgets, which are given to every MSP to help them carry out their official duties. Meanwhile, Scottish Tory MSP Edward Mountain also paid Shorthand PR a separate total of £10,500 in three separate payments spanning January to March 2024 for 'consultancy fees for communications'. But now, it has been revealed that – in between 2022 and 2023 – Scottish Tory MP John Lamont also paid Peach Partners Ltd over £40k for social media support and writing press releases, according to Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) data. The company was run by senior Scottish Tory adviser David Bateman when he was in between jobs with the Conservatives. Prior to setting up the company, Bateman had led the Scottish Tories media team – bringing the total of ex-Scottish Tory spin doctors who have been given public cash by the party to three. Collectively, they have been in receipt of nearly £200k of taxpayer cash since 2022. 'This is embarrassing for Russell Findlay, who has spent the last year calling for cuts in public spending, whilst his own party has been handing significant sums of public money to former colleagues," SNP MSP George Adam told The National. In February this year, Findlay pledged to set up his own version of Elon Musk's powerful cost-cutting US government department – DOGE, or the Department for Government Efficiency. The Scottish Conservative leader said the Scottish version of Doge would be tasked with 'cutting waste, identifying savings and delivering better value for taxpayers'. Adam added: 'Findlay now has serious questions to answer about the process involved in selecting companies to carry out this work and what measures were taken to ensure best value for money for the taxpayer. 'Failure to provide answers will allow there to be a perception that the Tories are happy to pass public money to their cronies.' The Scottish Tories have been approached for comment.
Int'l Business Times
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Thousands Of Afghans Win UK Asylum After Huge Data Breach
Thousands of Afghans who worked with the UK and their families were brought to Britain in a secret programme after a 2022 data breach put their lives at risk, the British government revealed on Tuesday. Defence Minister John Healey unveiled the scheme to parliament after the UK High Court on Tuesday lifted a super-gag order banning any reports of the events. In February 2022, a spreadsheet containing the names and details of almost 19,000 Afghans who had asked to be relocated to Britain was accidentally leaked by a UK official just six months after Taliban fighters seized Kabul, Healey said. "This was a serious departmental error," Healey said, adding: "Lives may have been at stake." The previous Conservative government put in place a secret programme in April 2024 to help those "judged to be at the highest risk of reprisals by the Taliban", he said. Some 900 Afghans and 3,600 family members have now been brought to Britain or are in transit under the programme known as the Afghan Response Route, at a cost of around GBP400 million ($535 million), Healey said. Applications from 600 more people have also been accepted, bringing the estimated total cost of the scheme to GBP850 million. They are among some 36,000 Afghans who have been accepted by Britain under different schemes since the August 2021 fall of Kabul. As Labour's opposition defence spokesman, Healey was briefed on the scheme in December 2023 but the Conservative government asked a court to impose a "super-injunction" banning any mention of it in parliament or by the press. When Labour came to power in July 2024, the scheme was in full swing but Healey said he had been "deeply uncomfortable to be constrained from reporting" to parliament. "Ministers decided not to tell parliamentarians at an earlier stage about the data incident, as the widespread publicity would increase the risk of the Taliban obtaining the dataset," he explained. Healey set up a review of the scheme when he became defence minister in the new Labour government. This concluded there was "very little evidence of intent by the Taliban to conduct a campaign of retribution". The Afghan Response Route has now been closed, the minister said, apologising for the data breach which "should never have happened". He estimated the total cost of relocating people from Afghanistan to Britain at between GBP5.5 billion to GBP6 billion. Conservative party defence spokesman James Cartlidge also apologised for the leak which happened under the previous Tory government. But he defended the decision to keep it secret, saying the aim had been to avoid "an error by an official of the British state leading to torture or even murder of persons in the dataset at the hands of what remains a brutal Taliban regime". Healey said all those brought to the UK from Afghanistan had been accounted for in the country's immigration figures. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to cut the number of migrants arriving in Britain. In 2023, the UK defence ministry was fined GBP350,000 by a data watchdog for disclosing personal information of 265 Afghans seeking to flee Taliban fighters in the chaotic fall of Kabul two years earlier. Britain's Afghanistan evacuation plan was widely criticised, with the government accused by MPs of "systemic failures of leadership, planning and preparation". Hundreds of Afghans eligible for relocation were left behind, many with their lives potentially at risk after details of staff and job applicants were left at the abandoned British embassy in Kabul.
