Civil Servants Praised for Working on Disastrous Secret Afghan Relocation Scheme – Guido Fawkes

News of an MoD data breach leading to thousands of Afghans secretly being relocated to the UK – costing the taxpayer billions – has caused outrage. Naturally, the civil servants involved in the cover-up are being praised for their role…

Guido has seen a memo sent to civil servants at the Home Office – which managed the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) – from Second Permanent Secretary Simon Ridley in which he thanks civil servants for their hard “work” since the secret breach came to light:

“Many people in the Home Office have been involved in the response, working discreetly and diligently on this since we were made aware of the incident. I would like to thank them for their dedicated work, under often challenging circumstances. We hope you understand why those working on the response had to do so under such strict conditions.”

If only the conditions attached to the distribution of the spreadsheet in question were so strict…

The memo then goes on to offer “support” to colleagues who may be “distressed” by the news, adding that the MoD has taken “action in relation to this with the Information Commissioner’s Office.” Meanwhile, no one involved in the leak has lost their job, more than three years later…

Read the memo in full below:

OFFICIAL NEWS
Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy data breach

Today (Tuesday 15 July), you may have seen media coverage relating to a data breach by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) that affects a proportion of applications to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme. You can read more about the incident through the statement MOD released on GOV.UK.

MOD has taken action in relation to this with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). However, due to concern about the potential risk caused to those individuals affected, the Government has been working on this issue under the protection of a super-injunction, which has been lifted today.

Many people in the Home Office have been involved in the response, working discreetly and diligently on this since we were made aware of the incident. I would like to thank them for their dedicated work, under often challenging circumstances. We hope you understand why those working on the response had to do so under such strict conditions.

For many Home Office colleagues who have worked in Afghanistan or on the ARAP scheme, the news of the data loss may be distressing. If needed, the normal support channels are available, including the Employee Assistance Programme.

Simon Ridley
Second Permanent Secretary