Ahmad Fahim warned that cover is ‘part of staying alive’ for many Afghans and Brits in the data breach.

The personal details of British spies and special forces personnel were included in the Afghan data breach that led to an unprecedented superinjunction, it has emerged.

It was previously reported that a list accidentally sent in an insecure email by a military official contained information relating to almost 19,000 Afghans who helped to support British forces in the fight against the Taliban.

Following the lifting of the two-year superinjunction on Tuesday, it has been revealed that the document also held data relating to more than 100 British people.

They included MI6 spies as well as special forces and SAS personnel.

The data breach, which happened in February 2022, was only discovered by the government when an extract was posted on Facebook 18 months later.

Then-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace asked a judge for an injunction to prevent the information contained in the dataset being published.

However, the judge instead placed the case under a superinjunction, preventing any details about the breach or the injunction itself from being published.

Meanwhile, the largest covert evacuation in peacetime history was launched to get Afghans out of the country, out of concern their lives could be at risk from the Taliban.

The programme, named the Afghanistan Response Route, has cost around £400 million so far and could cost around £850 million by the time it ends.

Defence Secretary John Healey told MPs on Tuesday: ‘This serious data incident should never have happened.

‘It may have occurred three years ago under the previous government, but to all those whose information was compromised, I offer a sincere apology today on behalf of the British Government, and I trust the shadow defence secretary, as a former defence minister, will join me.’

Iraq veteran and Lib Dem defence spokesperson Helen Maguire MP called for the government to ‘immediately launch an inquiry into this devastating scandal’.

She said: ‘The more we find out about this data leak, the worse it gets.

‘Highly confidential details, including our own special forces’ personal identities – should never have been somewhere where they could accidentally be shared, and potentially fall into the hands of the Taliban.’

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The ship is slowly leaking oil and fuel.

The UK needs to ‘actively prepare’ for potential direct attacks on home soil, a major government security review warns.

Growing tensions in regions from the Middle East to the India-Pakistan and Ukraine-Russia borders require a ‘major cultural shift’ from the government, according to the National Security Strategy (NSS) published today.

It says: ‘Significant escalation in any of these theatres would have a profoundly negative impact on our energy security, the cost of living and our ability to grow our economy.’

Written by John Bew, a historian who served as chief Foreign Policy Advisor to several British Prime Ministers, the report sets out plans for facing the challenges posed by an increasingly unstable world.

At its heart is the decision announced by Sir Keir Starmer today, to further boost the UK’s spending on national security over the next ten years until it hits 5% of GDP.

His announcement came on the first full day of a Nato conference in the Netherlands, which focused on a renewed commitment to greater spending.

The PM described the move as a response to an ‘era of radical uncertainty’, saying: ‘This is an opportunity to deepen our commitment to Nato and drive greater investment in the nation’s wider security and resilience.’

That era of uncertainty is outlined in sobering detail in the strategy report.

It explains that some of the UK’s adversaries are ‘laying the foundations for future conflict’ by putting themselves in a position to ’cause major disruption to our energy and/or supply chains.’

The report says: ‘For the first time in many years, we have to actively prepare for the possibility of the UK homeland coming under direct threat, potentially in a wartime scenario.’

Additionally, it describes the potential challenges posed by the effects of climate change, including ‘potential ecosystem collapse’, ‘threats to human health’, and ‘competition for basic resources, including food and water’.

The UK may need to become more selfish in a world where there is a ‘more transactional approach on migration, defence, trade, energy, technology and raw materials’, the strategy adds.

It reads: ‘NSS 2025 therefore signals the need for a major cultural shift in government to help us navigate the new era in which we find ourselves.

‘We will need to be more unapologetic and systematic in pursuit of our national interests. These interests will be defined as the long-term security and social and economic wellbeing of the British people.’

The report was published shortly after a statement from Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden in the House of Commons, where he said the government needed to ‘face the facts as they are’.

He said: ‘Nato’s member countries meet at a time when the security situation is more in flux than at any time in a generation.

‘A time when Ukraine is in its fourth year of resisting Russia’s invasion, a time when we in Europe are being asked to do more to secure our own defences, a time when security can no longer be thought of just as the traditional realms of air, sea and land, but also of technology, of cyber, of the strength of our democratic society.

‘And as we’ve seen in recent days, it’s been a time of renewed military action in the Middle East, with Israel and the United States acting to try to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb.’

Questions remain about the funding of Starmer’s commitment to boost national security spending to 5% of GDP.

The government said that would be made up of 1.5% going towards general ‘resilience and security’ and 3.5% towards specific defence, an increase of 0.5% from a commitment the PM made in February.

Achieving that ambition could require heavy cuts to other areas of government spending, and Starmer today said his government would not need to increase taxes to fund it.

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Keir Starmer will promise to hike defence spending by billions more within the next decade – just months after his last big commitment.

As the world waits to see the outcome of US bombs dropped on Iran and Russia continues its years-long bombardment of Ukraine, the UK government is ramping up its military funding plans even further.

The Prime Minister is preparing to announce at today’s Nato summit in the Netherlands that 5% of GDP will be spent on national security.

That is expected to be split into 3.5% for core defence and 1.5% towards ‘resilience and security’, with a target of reaching those figures by 2035.

It comes less than four months after Starmer outlined a plan to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence each year from 2027 by gutting the UK’s international aid budget.

He also set out an aim of reaching 3% of GDP in the next parliament, expected to last from 2029 to 2034 – though the funding for that increase was less clear.

Announcing the move in February, the PM described it as a ‘clear ambition’ which was ‘subject to economic and fiscal conditions’.

An additional 0.5% of GDP for defence over the same timeline could require heavy cuts to other areas of government spending.

Starmer said the latest announcement was responding to an ‘era of radical uncertainty’, adding it required ‘agility, speed and a clear-eyed sense of the national interest’.

The PM said: ‘That’s why I have made the commitment to spend 5% of GDP on national security.

‘This is an opportunity to deepen our commitment to NATO and drive greater investment in the nation’s wider security and resilience.

‘After all, economic security is national security, and through this strategy we will bring the whole of society with us, creating jobs, growth and wages for working people – guided by my Plan for Change.’

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has been leading the charge on urging the leaders of nations in the military alliance to increase their defence spending to 5%.

In a speech to mark the start of the conference, he said: ‘As leaders begin to gather for the summit here, this is our focus – ensuring we have all we need to deter and defend against any threat.’

However, one country appears to be hoping for a carveout.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said last week he would not commit to increase spending to 5% of GDP.

Appearing on Spanish television at the weekend, he said: ‘We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defence investment, but we are not going to do so.’

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‘If we don’t immediately increase defence spending, this country may not be around in 2034.’

The UK waters will soon be patrolled by 12 new ‘apex predator’ attack submarines.

The military’s weapon arsenal includes the secretive nuclear-powered and armed submarines, which only a select few will ever set foot in due to high-level security.

The submarine arm of the Royal Navy, known as the Silent Service, operates a fleet of Trafalgar, Astute and Vanguard class vessels.

Now, an upgrade is on the horizon after the government said that 12 new SSN-AUKUS submarines will be built as part of a £15 billion programme ‘in response to the rapidly increasing threats’ – namely, Russia – and to ‘make Britain and Nato safe for decades to come.’

Here is a recap of what the fuss around the SSN-AUKUS submarines is all about.

The Ministry of Defence has been tight-lipped about the submarines’ exact specs, but they will replace the seven-strong Astute class from the late 2030s onwards.

Their deadly design allows them to patrol domestic and international waters without detection, and if needed, destroy other ships and submarines and even enforce a blockade for a long period.

The name – SSN-AUKUS – comes from the security pact between Australia, the UK and the US formed in 2021, which led to the creation of the next-generation submarines.

The new fleet will carry conventional weapons, but they will be nuclear-powered. In comparison, the Vanguard-class submarines are equipped with the controversial Trident missile system with nuclear warheads.

One of the new submarines’ task will be to protect the Trident nuclear missiles, which are already undergoing a warhead modernisation programme.

The SSN system will remain the ‘apex predator’ for years to come, Navy Lookout said.

The new UK submarines will be built by BAE Systems at Barrow-in-Furness, while the nuclear propulsion units are manufactured at Rolls Royce in Derby, which the government said will support 30,000 jobs.

Defence Secretary John Healey said: ‘Our outstanding submariners patrol 24/7 to keep us and our allies safe, but we know that threats are increasing and we must act decisively to face down Russian aggression. 

‘With new state-of-the-art submarines patrolling international waters and our own nuclear warhead programme on British shores, we are making Britain secure at home and strong abroad, while delivering on our Plan for Change with 30,000 highly-skilled jobs across the country.’

The submarine plan comes after the government pledged to up the UK’s defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 as the Prime Minister announced the strategic defence review.

However, he refused to confirm whether the defence spending will reach 3% by the next parliament.

The PM also announced at least six new munitions factories along with the £15 billion investment in nuclear warheads.

He said: ‘First, we are moving to war-fighting readiness as the central purpose of our armed forces.

‘When we are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, the most effective way to deter them is to be ready, and frankly, to show them that we’re ready to deliver peace through strength.’

The second aim is to adopt a ‘Nato-first’ defence approach so that all actions strengthen the alliance.

Innovation will also be accelerated at a ‘wartime pace’ to mee the ‘threat of today and tomorrow, as the fastest innovator in Nato,’ Sir Keir said.

The UK defence announcement comes as the Russia-Ukraine war has intensified.

Ukraine said it had blasted dozens of Russian nuclear bombers in a mass drone attack over the weekend.

Meanwhile, peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegates concluded in Turkiye without a major breakthrough, although prisoner swaps were agreed on.

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All 25 British intelligence personnel in the helicopter died when it crashed in fog.

Inspired by Ukraine, Britain is turning to AI to fight Russian attacks (Picture: AFP)

Britain will flush more than £1 billion on artificial intelligence and a cyber team in response to major Russian attacks authorised by Vladimir Putin.

F…

UK-made, invisible radio wave weapon has knocked out drone swarms for the first time.

‘I am not going to deny it’