Exposed: Tory hypocrisy over data breach cover-up

Sir Grant Shapps has said he was “surprised” the superinjunction to keep the huge Afghan data breach secret was in place for “so long” - despite having fought to keep the gagging order in place.

- HOLLY BANCROFT ARCHIE MITCHELL DAVID MADDOX

The former defence secretary defended the government’s decision to hide the catastrophic leak, which resulted in 16,000 affected Afghans being evacuated to Britain, with some 8,000 still to come, arguing the decision saved lives.

Breaking his silence days after the data breach was revealed to the public, Sir Grant told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “I'd thought that it [the superinjunction] was probably going to come to an end last summer, the autumn perhaps at maximum.”

But, The Independent can reveal that despite the judge in the case agreeing to lift the order last May, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) - for which Sir Grant was responsible at the time - insisted it needed to remain indefinitely.

The government’s barrister told the Court of Appeal in June 2024 that “there is no particular moment at which [the superinjunction] ceases to be appropriate”.

Sir Grant breaking cover came as:

• Questions were asked about MoD data security, with revelations of hundreds of more breaches

• The intelligence and security committee (ISC) insisted that Sir Grant had serious questions to answer over keeping them in the dark

• A senior minister suggested the Whitehall officials were behind attempts to make the cover-up permanent

• Downing Street denied claims that the defence secretary John Healey had misled parliament

The chair of the ISC, Lord Beamish, said Sir Grant has “serious questions to answer” over his insistence that it was right to keep the MPs and peers in the dark over the breach.

Sir Grant said the influential committee was not told about the leak because “from time to time, things which are supposed to be secret, once they get out to more people, cease to remain entirely secret”.