Latest news with #Lord Beamish
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Auto-enrolling young people on voting register being explored
Young people could be automatically enrolled on the voting register under plans being explored by the Government, a minister has told Parliament. Labour former minister Lord Beamish argued 'the only way we're going to get young people and other people on the registry is auto-enrolment'. Responding, communities minister Lord Khan of Burnley said the Government will 'take steps to move towards' this, but added that electoral law is 'complicated'. 'We intend to actively explore and test new and more automated methods of registration, including better use of data to identify people who are eligible, and integration with other Government services to make it easier for people to register,' he had earlier told the upper chamber. The minister also revealed the Government is 'looking at' placing 16 and 17-year-olds on the electoral register at the same time they are given their national insurance numbers. This came in response to Liberal Democrat peer Lord Rennard, who said: 'Will the Government now implement the unanimous cross-party recommendation of the House of Lords select committee and automatically include 16 and 17-year-olds on the electoral registers at the same time as they are given their national insurance numbers?' Lord Khan replied: 'This is a major change in the electoral franchise, and we need to get it right. Changes to the electoral law of this magnitude require careful planning and should not be rushed. 'On the question in relation to national insurance, we are looking at different options for ensuring young people can be easily and accurately registered to vote, and ways to enable people to register when they interact with other government services. 'So the (Lord Rennard) keeps pushing. I'm going to give (Lord Rennard) good news … to say we are looking at that as well.' Plaid Cymru peer Baroness Smith of Llanfaes called for a national register to vote day for schools. She said: 'Will this Government consider a national register to vote day for schools, where young people are encouraged to register to vote online in their registration classes?' Lord Khan said this was 'a very strong point, and I will take that away'. He added: 'We'll take all measures to ensure that we can (to) make sure people can participate comfortably and positively.'
The Independent
19-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Questions raised over MoD amid data breaches
Hundreds of Ministry of Defence data breaches have been revealed, with 569 incidents recorded in 2023-24, an increase from the previous year. One significant breach last year involved the names and bank details of 272,000 staff being compromised after a contractor-operated system was hacked. The MoD was fined £350,000 for a data breach related to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, which exposed up to 100,000 Afghans and potentially British service personnel to risk. Lord Beamish, chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, has questioned why highly sensitive information was stored on low-security systems, expressing concerns about the MoD's data handling. Both the Intelligence and Security Committee and the Commons defence select committee are set to investigate the breaches, with calls for greater accountability and improved data protection measures.
Times
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
MPs demand to know why they were kept in the dark over Afghan leak
MPs and peers have demanded to see secret intelligence and risk assessments that were used by the Ministry of Defence to keep the Afghan superinjunction in place for nearly two years. 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.'
