Michael Portillo gives brutal verdict on Afghan data breach as fresh details emerge: ‘Absolute shambles’

Portillo expressed dismay at the government's inability to maintain accurate documentation of personnel they considered valuable.

"When we go into an operation in a foreign country, it is predictable that we will one day leave. You would think we would keep decent records of the people we value, but those decent records did not exist," he stated.

The security failure occurred when a Ministry of Defence employee mistakenly distributed a confidential database via email in February 2022.

The Government remained unaware of the exposure until portions appeared on social media in August 2023.

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An unprecedented legal gagging order prevented authorities from notifying those affected for nearly two years. The Government maintained that disclosure could endanger 100,000 lives through Taliban retaliation, though a subsequent review found inclusion in the database alone unlikely to warrant targeting.

Portillo criticised the authorities' lack of clarity about those listed. "They had no idea whether the people on the list were people they needed to save or whether some of the claims were bogus or distant relatives, they had no idea at all," he said.

Portillo acknowledged that he would have implemented similar measures if the breach had happened during his tenure, including seeking an injunction. However, he noted the justification for secrecy appeared to shift from protecting lives to shielding ministers.

The former Defence Secretary condemned the Ministry of Defence's inefficiency despite substantial funding. "It is extraordinary we spend billions and billions of pounds on defence and get almost no usable defence at the other end," he remarked.

He advocated for sweeping reforms, stating: "One of the first major reforms that should happen to the Ministry of Defence should be to cut it drastically."

Portillo lamented the absence of accountability within the department. "No one will take responsibility, that's a subject for the birds I'm afraid," he said.

Those affected by the breach face heightened risks whilst awaiting evacuation decisions. Qargha, a former Afghan security forces member whose application was rejected in 2023, discovered the exposure through an MoD email he initially hoped would approve his relocation.

"My day-to-day life will be harder now. I am living in a safe house and I know that today or tomorrow, if I need to go to the hospital or seek help for anything, I will have to be more cautious now," he told The Independent.

Another former special forces member, Akthar, expressed bewilderment at the breach. "I don't understand, this is not a third-world country. This is the UK, where access to technology is high. How have they managed to leak this information?" he said.