Overview
- Journalists told MPs the unprecedented global order blocked reporting and parliamentary oversight for about 18 months, leaving what a judge later called a free‑speech and scrutiny vacuum.
- Testimony detailed a breach that exposed personal information of 18,700 Afghan applicants to UK resettlement schemes, potentially endangering those linked to British forces.
- Reporting described a secret relocation effort with an estimated £7bn budget, and MPs heard that basic queries to the MoD still go unanswered despite the gag being lifted in July.
- The Defence Committee’s investigation will run in parallel with a review by the Intelligence and Security Committee, with plans to question ministers, officials, and those supporting affected Afghans.
- A public spending watchdog flagged the MoD’s failure to recognise provisions for compensation and resettlement costs, and about 4,200 eligible people remained awaiting relocation as of October.