30 Oct 25. Evidence Session: Afghan data breach and resettlement schemes
Tuesday 4 November 2025, 10.30, Committee Room 16
Watch on parliamentlive.tv
A group of journalists involved in the court proceedings on the super-injunction that prohibited reporting of the Afghan data breach for nearly two years will give evidence to the Defence Committee, at 10.30 on Tuesday 4 November.
Holly Bancroft from the Independent, Larisa Brown from the Times, and Sam Greenhill from the Daily Mail, will appear together.
Members are likely to ask for the witnesses’ personal perspective on the unprecedented use of a super-injunction to protect those affected by the data breach, which also suppressed public debate and media and parliamentary scrutiny of the breach and the Government’s response to it.
The witnesses are also likely to be asked about the risk of Afghans who worked with UK forces being targeted for reprisals due to the data breach, as well as more generally.
This evidence session builds on a joint submission of written evidence by the witnesses.
Tuesday 4 November, 10.30:
- Holly Bancroft – Home Affairs Correspondent, The Independent
- Larisa Brown – Defence Editor, The Times
- Sam Greenhill – Chief Reporter, Daily Mail
29 Oct 25. F-35 fighter jets’ wings clipped by complacent MoD’s short-termism, PAC report finds.
– Procurement and management of UK’s best-ever jet beset by significant problems
– PAC calls for more radical plan to address personnel shortages affecting plane’s ability to fly with questions over forecast cost of operating new nuclear-capable F-35A
The F-35 is the best fast jet the UK has ever had – but the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) cost-cutting approach has caused significant problems in its use. In a new report on the UK’s F-35 capability, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) calls for a more radical plan to address an unacceptable personnel shortage, while raising questions over the costs of introducing F-35As in their nuclear weapons role.
The PAC report lays out a pattern of short-term decision-making from MoD impacting the F-35’s capability, availability to fly and value for money, including:
- A delayed investment in the facility which assesses the F-35’s stealth capability. In the short-term £82m was saved by 2024-25, but inflation from building later will have cost MoD £16m more than that by 2031-32;
- In 2010, the MoD chose to delay the delivery of some aircraft to make short-term financial savings, reducing the number of aircraft available today – a situation exacerbated by a delay of seven aircraft by a year in 2020 for financial reasons;
- The delay of 809 Naval Air Squadron’s infrastructure, delivery of which MoD decided to put off till 2029 to save money, knowing it would cost more long-term and reduce capability. Costs here have now increased from £56m to a forecast £154m.
The programme suffers from an unacceptable shortage of engineers, which poses an obstacle to the jets flying more often. While this shortage reflects wider challenges across the armed forces, the MoD worsened the situation for F-35s by miscalculating how many engineers would be needed per plane, through failing to take into account staff taking leave and performing other tasks. Though this mistake has now been identified and new funding provided, it will still take several years to resolve.
There are also questions over the additional costs of operating nuclear-capable F-35As, and how long the necessary arrangements will take to prepare. Becoming certified for the NATO nuclear mission will add new requirements to training, personnel and possibly infrastructure, but discussions in this area are at an early stage, and no indication of forecast costs has been provided by MoD.
The report also highlights the substandard accommodation at RAF Marham, the F-35’s main operating base. The MoD accepted to the PAC’s inquiry that Marham’s living quarters are currently not good enough, with frontline personnel revealing that it is shabby, sometimes lacking hot water, and lacking bus access to a local town. Given already existing recruitment and retention issues in the programme, MoD should urgently look to prioritise investment to bring forward completion of improvements on a much earlier timescale than the currently-planned and very complacent date of 2034.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “Making short-term cost decisions is famously inadvisable if you’re a homeowner with a leaky roof, let alone if one is running a complex fighter jet programme – and yet such decisions have been rife in the management of the F-35. During our inquiry, the MoD told us that they viewed these kinds of decisions costing the taxpayer many ms more in the long-term than the money saved in the short term, as a “conventional consequence” of budget management. This is exactly the sort of attitude that our Committee exists to challenge.
“There are basic lessons here that MoD has been worryingly slow to learn. Its appraisal of the F-35’s whole-life cost is unrealistic, which it currently gives as at almost £57bn through to 2069. But this figure does not include costs for personnel, fuel and infrastructure, which the MoD will struggle to operate a successful programme without. Moreover, the MoD is due to declare the jet’s full operating capability, despite unresolved personnel shortages. It will also not have the ability to attack ground targets from a safe distance until the early 2030s – the aspect of the F-35’s capability which the Chief of the Defence Staff told us worried him most. The F-35 is the best fighter jet this nation has ever possessed. If it is to be wielded in the manner in which it deserves, the MoD must root out the short-termism, complacency and miscalculation in the programme identified in our report.”
29 Oct 25. Inquiry: Afghan data breach and resettlement schemes. Defence Committee announces next steps in Afghan data breach inquiry. The Defence Committee has published written evidence received in response to its call for evidence on the Afghan data breach and resettlement schemes. Additional submissions have been accepted in confidence, including personal accounts from individuals and a classified submission from the Ministry of Defence (MOD), of which a publishable version has been promised in due course. Public evidence sessions will begin next week, hearing first from some of the journalists who were subject to the super-injunction. Further details will be announced shortly. Early sessions in the inquiry are likely to focus on the impact on Afghans and others of the data breach, the use of a super-injunction and the Government’s resettlement policy. The inquiry forms part of a broader programme of scrutiny of the MOD’s work. A further announcement on progress is likely early in 2026.
Chair of the Defence Committee, Tan Dhesi MP, said: “On behalf of the Defence Committee, I would like to thank all those who have contributed written evidence to this inquiry. We recognise the difficult lived experience that much of the evidence describes and appreciate the effort involved in preparing it.”
27 Oct 25. How can increased defence spending boost Scotland’s economy and jobs? MPs launch new inquiry. MPs have today launched a new inquiry exploring how Scotland’s economy and job market can benefit from increased defence spending. The UK Government has committed to raise defence spending to 2.6% of GDP by 2027, and to 3% of GDP in the next Parliament. The Defence Industrial Strategy, published in September 2025, outlines plans to strengthen national security whilst boosting the economy through defence investment. As part of this, the UK Government announced five Defence Growth Deals, including one for Scotland, backed by a combined £250 m fund.
Scotland holds a significant position in the UK’s defence sector. The cross-party Scottish Affairs Committee will consider how Scotland can support the delivery of the Strategy, and how the economic benefits of increased defence investment can be kept within and spread across Scotland.
The inquiry could explore the Ministry of Defence’s engagement with Scottish SMEs, which make up 98.2% of Scotland’s private sector, to ensure Scottish businesses can benefit from new defence investment.
This inquiry is also likely to look at how this investment can create high-quality, highly skilled jobs in Scotland. Several skills gaps have been identified in Scotland’s defence industry, notably in STEM, welding and other technical disciplines; the committee may investigate the UK Government’s role in supporting the creation and retention of skilled jobs needed to grow the defence industry.
Full terms of reference are available on the committee website. Submissions can be made via the Committee’s website until 5pm on 12th December 2025.
Patricia Ferguson, Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, said: “The UK Government has pledged to increase defence spending by the largest amount since the Cold War. Given Scotland’s key place in the UK’s defence sector, it’s crucial that we make sure it feels the economic benefits of increased defence investment. The committee is keen to make sure that the increased defence investment, and Scotland’s Defence Growth Deal, can help create and retain skilled jobs. Not only will this drive Scotland’s economy and help communities across Scotland, but it’ll also plug vital gaps in Scotland’s defence industry that will be needed to help the UK’s military meet the UK and Europe’s modern defence needs.”