John Healey accused of misleading Parliament over Afghan data breach
EMBARGO: Immediate Release
The Liberal Democrats have said the Defence Secretary John Healey appears to have misled Parliament over the Afghan data breach - and must “urgently come before Parliament to answer the question of whether he knowingly misled MPs and the public”.
Only three days ago John Healey told MPs in the House of Commons that no serving member of the armed forces had been put at risk by the data loss. This comes despite it emerging yesterday that over 100 British officials, including members of the special forces and MI6, were compromised in a data breach.
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey called on the Defence Secretary to urgently come to Parliament and correct the record.
Responding to a question from Liberal Democrat MP Defence Committee member Ian Roome on Tuesday 15 July, John Healey said: “To the best of my knowledge and belief, no serving member of our armed forces is put at risk by the data loss.”
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:
“Three days ago John Healey claimed no-one serving in the armed forces was put at risk by the data breach. Today we found out that appears to be false.
“We need to know if any serving members of the armed forces were impacted - and the Defence Secretary must urgently come before Parliament to answer the question of whether he knowingly misled MPs and the public.”
Liberal Democrat MP Ian Roome, who previously served in the RAF, added:
“The Defence Secretary gave me his assurances just three days ago that no serving members of our armed forces were put at risk by this appalling data breach. I am very concerned to find out that this appears not to have been correct.
“It is really important to restore public trust that he now clarifies his remarks. It is the least that our brave armed forces personnel along with the thousands of Afghans impacted deserve.”
ENDS
Notes to Editor:
See Hansard here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-07-15/debates/52337725-C8E1-4D11-952A-BA4A9C1CCEE6/Afghanistan