Latest news with #LukePollard
BBC News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Cheshire East councillor's campaign for Cadet Forces Day receives support
A campaign for a nationally-recognised Cadet Forces Day, as part of Armed Forces Week, has gained momentum after getting support from a local authority in Anthony Harrison, Cheshire East Council's armed forces champion, took a motion to full council on Wednesday calling for the government to back the is currently a dedicated Reserves Day on the Wednesday of Armed Forces Week each June, while the Friday is dedicated as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness forces are voluntary youth organisations, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, that work on developing young people's leadership and teamwork skills. Since taking up the position of armed forces champion Harrison said he had worked on several projects to increase support for the borough and wider armed forces community. 'Fantastic opportunities' He said he had also lobbied central government to introduce a national recognition day for cadet forces – to be allocated to the Tuesday of Armed Forces Week – and had been in discussion with armed forces minister Luke Pollard about the plans."I was a cadet at the age of 13, and I grew up in a council house not really from an affluent background," Harrison said."I joined 391 Air Cadet Squadron in Wilmslow, and it just provided so many fantastic opportunities for me and really kept me focused when I went on to do further education."He said his own positive experiences made him want to come up with a way of giving recognition to cadet organisations."The cadets have a lot of pride in what they do, and I think it will be fantastic if we can give them a sense of belonging and a sense of achievement if they are a part of Armed Forces Week with their own committed day," he added it would also help with the government's aim to increase cadet forces by 30% and engagement with Forces Day could involve things like school assemblies, cadets wearing their uniforms at school as well as open days and special aim is for the first day to be organised in time for Armed Forces Week 2026. Read more Cheshire stories from the BBC and follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Daily Mail
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Government will 'robustly defend' any compensation claims from thousands of Afghans whose lives were put at risk by massive data breach
Thousands of Afghans included on a list of people trying to flee the Taliban are unlikely to receive compensation after their details were accidentally leaked. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Government would 'robustly defend' any legal action or bid for compensation, adding these were 'hypothetical claims'. It has also been reported that the MoD will not proactively offer compensation to those affected. The data breach, which saw details of 18,714 applicants for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme released in 2022, prompted an unprecedented gagging order amid fears the Taliban could target would-be refugees for reprisals. It also saw the establishment of a secret scheme, the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR), to bring some of those affected to the UK. But the MoD spokesman pointed to an independent review which found there is now little danger that appearing on the leaked spreadsheet would be enough to result in being targeted by the Taliban. Hundreds of data protection claims are expected to be lodged, with the High Court hearing earlier this week that a Manchester-based firm already had several hundred prospective clients. Previous Afghan data breaches led to the MoD compensating people whose details were leaked. Earlier this month, before the superinjunction preventing reporting of the 2022 leak was lifted, armed forces minister Luke Pollard announced £1.6 million in compensation for a separate incident involving the release of Afghan nationals' data. Mr Pollard said the MoD had agreed to pay up to £4,000 to each of the 265 people whose details were mistakenly copied into emails sent by the Government in September 2021. That breach also saw the Government fined £350,000 by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). But the ICO has said it will take no further action in relation to the larger 2022 breach, with Information Commissioner John Edwards saying there was 'little we could add in this case' given the 'high degree of public scrutiny' the MoD was already facing. In total, the Government expects 6,900 people to be brought to the UK under the ARR scheme, with costs reaching £850 million. Along with the Afghan nationals, the breach saw details of more than 100 British officials compromised, including special forces and MI6 personnel. It comes as the Mail revealed that Taliban warlords are on a vengeful killing spree against hundreds of Afghans after the Government lost the top secret database. One man was shot by a gunman who stepped from an alley on Monday and fired four bullets at close range into his chest – one of three assassinations in the past seven days. The brother of the former interpreter (above) was beaten by the Taliban demanding to know where his brother was hiding and if he had worked for the UK Panic has been spreading since Tuesday when Afghans were officially informed their personal details had been lost in the UK's worst ever data blunder, putting 100,000 'at risk of death'. Thousands received 'notifications' from His Majesty's Government saying sorry, and adding: 'We understand this news may be concerning.' It is not known if the Taliban actually has the database, which includes names of Afghans who helped the UK , as well as members of the British intelligence community, it is understood. But one Afghan soldier, who fled to Britain for fear of retribution, believes his brother was gunned down in the street this week because the militant group was aware of his affiliation to the UK. He said: 'If or when the Taliban have this list, then killings will increase – and it will be Britain's fault. There will be many more executions like the one on Monday.' The Mail has seen a dossier of more than 300 murders that include those who worked with the UK and some who had applied for the UK scheme, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).
North Wales Chronicle
19-07-2025
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
MoD to ‘robustly defend' compensation claims from Afghans in data breach case
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Government would 'robustly defend' any legal action or bid for compensation, adding these were 'hypothetical claims'. It has also been reported that the MoD will not proactively offer compensation to those affected. The data breach, which saw details of 18,714 applicants for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme released in 2022, prompted an unprecedented gagging order amid fears the Taliban could target would-be refugees for reprisals. It also saw the establishment of a secret scheme, the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR), to bring some of those affected to the UK. But the MoD spokesman pointed to an independent review which found there is now little danger that appearing on the leaked spreadsheet would be enough to result in being targeted by the Taliban. Hundreds of data protection claims are expected to be lodged, with the High Court hearing earlier this week that a Manchester-based firm already had several hundred prospective clients. Previous Afghan data breaches led to the MoD compensating people whose details were leaked. Earlier this month, before the superinjunction preventing reporting of the 2022 leak was lifted, armed forces minister Luke Pollard announced £1.6 million in compensation for a separate incident involving the release of Afghan nationals' data. Mr Pollard said the MoD had agreed to pay up to £4,000 to each of the 265 people whose details were mistakenly copied into emails sent by the Government in September 2021. That breach also saw the Government fined £350,000 by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). But the ICO has said it will take no further action in relation to the larger 2022 breach, with Information Commissioner John Edwards saying there was 'little we could add in this case' given the 'high degree of public scrutiny' the MoD was already facing. In total, the Government expects 6,900 people to be brought to the UK under the ARR scheme, with costs reaching £850 million. Along with the Afghan nationals, the breach saw details of more than 100 British officials compromised, including special forces and MI6 personnel.
South Wales Argus
19-07-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
MoD to ‘robustly defend' compensation claims from Afghans in data breach case
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Government would 'robustly defend' any legal action or bid for compensation, adding these were 'hypothetical claims'. It has also been reported that the MoD will not proactively offer compensation to those affected. The data breach, which saw details of 18,714 applicants for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme released in 2022, prompted an unprecedented gagging order amid fears the Taliban could target would-be refugees for reprisals. It also saw the establishment of a secret scheme, the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR), to bring some of those affected to the UK. But the MoD spokesman pointed to an independent review which found there is now little danger that appearing on the leaked spreadsheet would be enough to result in being targeted by the Taliban. Hundreds of data protection claims are expected to be lodged, with the High Court hearing earlier this week that a Manchester-based firm already had several hundred prospective clients. Previous Afghan data breaches led to the MoD compensating people whose details were leaked. Earlier this month, before the superinjunction preventing reporting of the 2022 leak was lifted, armed forces minister Luke Pollard announced £1.6 million in compensation for a separate incident involving the release of Afghan nationals' data. Mr Pollard said the MoD had agreed to pay up to £4,000 to each of the 265 people whose details were mistakenly copied into emails sent by the Government in September 2021. That breach also saw the Government fined £350,000 by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). But the ICO has said it will take no further action in relation to the larger 2022 breach, with Information Commissioner John Edwards saying there was 'little we could add in this case' given the 'high degree of public scrutiny' the MoD was already facing. In total, the Government expects 6,900 people to be brought to the UK under the ARR scheme, with costs reaching £850 million. Along with the Afghan nationals, the breach saw details of more than 100 British officials compromised, including special forces and MI6 personnel.
Rhyl Journal
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Rhyl Journal
MoD to ‘robustly defend' compensation claims from Afghans in data breach case
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Government would 'robustly defend' any legal action or bid for compensation, adding these were 'hypothetical claims'. It has also been reported that the MoD will not proactively offer compensation to those affected. The data breach, which saw details of 18,714 applicants for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme released in 2022, prompted an unprecedented gagging order amid fears the Taliban could target would-be refugees for reprisals. It also saw the establishment of a secret scheme, the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR), to bring some of those affected to the UK. But the MoD spokesman pointed to an independent review which found there is now little danger that appearing on the leaked spreadsheet would be enough to result in being targeted by the Taliban. Hundreds of data protection claims are expected to be lodged, with the High Court hearing earlier this week that a Manchester-based firm already had several hundred prospective clients. Previous Afghan data breaches led to the MoD compensating people whose details were leaked. Earlier this month, before the superinjunction preventing reporting of the 2022 leak was lifted, armed forces minister Luke Pollard announced £1.6 million in compensation for a separate incident involving the release of Afghan nationals' data. Mr Pollard said the MoD had agreed to pay up to £4,000 to each of the 265 people whose details were mistakenly copied into emails sent by the Government in September 2021. That breach also saw the Government fined £350,000 by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). But the ICO has said it will take no further action in relation to the larger 2022 breach, with Information Commissioner John Edwards saying there was 'little we could add in this case' given the 'high degree of public scrutiny' the MoD was already facing. In total, the Government expects 6,900 people to be brought to the UK under the ARR scheme, with costs reaching £850 million. Along with the Afghan nationals, the breach saw details of more than 100 British officials compromised, including special forces and MI6 personnel.
