Following the recent data breach concerning Afghan personnel, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that its Permanent Secretary will be replaced.
This decision comes after the exposure of what has been described as one of the most significant data breaches in decades for the UK, causing considerable embarrassment for defense and intelligence agencies.
The breach, which remained undetected for several months and was subject to a super-injunction, jeopardized the identities of British intelligence operatives, military personnel, and vulnerable Afghan allies.
The MoD has confirmed that Permanent Secretary David Williams will depart this autumn, with recruitment for his successor already underway.
According to sources at the BBC, the decision regarding Williams’ departure was reached prior to the public disclosure of the data leak.
The incident occurred when a UK Special Forces headquarters official mistakenly sent an email containing a spreadsheet with the personal data of nearly 19,000 individuals seeking refuge from the Taliban.
In addition to the Afghan nationals, the compromised data included information on over 100 British officials, including special forces and MI6 personnel, dating back to February 2022.
A legal injunction was in place to prevent reporting on the matter until it was lifted earlier this summer.
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, Labour MP and chairman of the defence select committee, acknowledged Mr. Williams’ “many years of dedicated public service deserve respect,” while also recognizing the gravity of the breach.
He added, “While our committee has agreed to inquire into this shocking situation, we have yet to determine the full scope for that, including who will be called to give evidence.”
“The fact that this breach has put at risk our courageous British service personnel and the Afghans who bravely supported them, makes the situation even more shocking.
“I am sure the committee will want to investigate and understand how this could have been allowed to happen.”
An MoD spokesperson stated on Friday: “Permanent Secretary David Williams will step down this autumn and the recruitment process for his successor is under way.
“Since 2021, David has led the department through a period of significant activity, and we thank him for his contribution.”
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The veterans say comrades “died in service of their country” in what was meant to be a peaceful mission.
The Intelligence and Security Committee says all documents related to the case should be provided for review.
The MoD says it will ‘robustly defend’ against large compensation claims from Afghans affected by the data breach, and won’t proactively give payouts
The personal details of spies and soldiers were included in a data leak that also named 19,000 Afghans.
For a case officer in MI6, having your name and details outed in public is potentially a career-killer.