Shapps said if there was any doubt, erring on the side of caution was "entirely justified", adding his focus was on "saving lives". The data of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had worked with the British during the 20-year war in Afghanistan and had applied to resettle in the UK were inadvertently leaked in February 2022.

Grant Shapps claims he was ‘surprised’ gagging order was in place for ‘so long’ – despite fighting to keep superinjunction in place

Ministers in the UK's last Conservative government have "serious questions to answer" over a secret resettlement plan for thousands of Afghans after a data breach endangered their lives, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday.