MPs demand to know why they were kept in the dark over Afghan leak
The parliamentary committee that oversees security issues has on Thursday used its statutory powers to require the MoD to hand over the material. The intelligence and security committee (ISC) also wants answers over why the High Court was told it should not be informed of the data breach or superinjunction, given that it was normal for it to see secret intelligence.
On Thursday night the MoD promised to give its 'full support' to the ISC's inquiry, although it stopped short of announcing it would hand over the specific requested documents.
Lord Beamish, chair of the ISC, which scrutinises Britain's spy agencies including defence intelligence within the MoD, has described the decision to keep it in the dark as 'appalling'.
• UK special forces, MI6 spies and military officers named in Afghan data leak
He questioned whether the Court of Appeal was misled over the lack of involvement of the ISC. Committee members can see classified intelligence and hold in-camera hearings, so argue they should have been allowed to scrutinise the MoD's position.
When judges asked last year whether the ISC should be made aware of the data leak and evacuation of Afghans to the UK, the MoD said that there was 'concern with certain pieces of information'. After the hearing no one on the committee was told, preventing parliamentary scrutiny of the data breach and the government's response.
• 'They're playing with our lives': Afghans rue placing trust in the UK
On Thursday the ISC said it was using its statutory powers, outlined in the Justice and Security Act, requiring the MoD to provide it with the defence intelligence and other assessments that were used to argue for unprecedented secrecy.
The MoD had said that if the Taliban gained access to a leaked spreadsheet of Afghans seeking relocation to Britain, as many as 100,000 would be at 'risk of death, torture, intimidation or harassment' and continued to hold that line during a string of court hearings over the following two years.
• Who knew about the Afghan data breach — and who was in the dark?
The ISC also wants to be passed the full review by Paul Rimmer, a retired civil servant, who came to the opposite view — that it was now 'highly unlikely' that Afghans on the leaked spreadsheet, even those who had worked with British forces, would face retribution. His change of mind led to the end of the injunction.
Only a summary of Rimmer's review has been made public, in which he said that he examined 'open source and often anecdotal evidence' plus an intelligence assessment that was ten months old. The MoD's swift U-turn has led to questions over whether the risk justified secrecy for so long.
The ISC has also asked to be provided with the basis on which the MoD's lawyers told appeal judges that material could not be shared with it, 'given that under the Justice and Security Act 2013 classification or sensitivity of material is not grounds on which information can be withheld from the ISC'.
John Healey, the defence secretary, told the Commons on Tuesday that he was restoring 'full accountability' for the government's Afghanistan relocations schemes to parliament. He added: 'I would expect select committees to hold us to account now, through in-depth inquiries.'
A spokesperson for the MOD said it 'strongly welcomes' ISC scrutiny, adding: 'Defence Intelligence and the wider department have been instructed by the defence secretary to give their full support to the ISC and all parliamentary committees. If ministers and officials are asked to account and give evidence, they will.
'We have restored proper parliamentary accountability and scrutiny for the decisions that the department takes and the spending that we commit on behalf of the taxpayer.'
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