UK secretly resettled 4,500 Afghans in Britain after huge data exposure: Report
UK government was forced to act after the breach revealed the names of Afghans who had helped British forces in Afghanistan before they withdrew (Picture credit: AP)LONDON: Britain set up a secret scheme to relocate thousands of Afghans to the UK after a soldier accidentally disclosed the personal details of more than 33,000 people, putting them at risk of reprisals from the Taliban, court documents showed on Tuesday.A judge at London’s high court said in a May 2024 judgment first made public Tuesday that about 20,000 people may have to be offered relocation to Britain, a move that would likely cost “several billion pounds”.Britain’s current defence minister John Healey said that around 4,500 affected people “are in Britain or in transit ... at a cost of around 400 million pounds”.The government is also facing lawsuits from those affected by the breach. A ministry of defence-commissioned review of the breach, a summary of which was also published Tuesday, said more than 16,000 affected people had been relocated to the UK as of May this year.The government was forced to act after the breach revealed the names of Afghans who had helped British forces in Afghanistan before they withdrew from the country in chaotic circumstances in 2021. The details emerged on Tuesday after a legal ruling known as a superinjunction was lifted.The injunction had been granted in 2023 after the MoD argued a public disclosure of the breach could put people at risk of extra-judicial killing or serious violence by the Taliban.The dataset contained personal information of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to be relocated to Britain and their families. It was released in error in early 2022, before the MoD spotted the breach in Aug 2023, when part of the dataset was published on Facebook.The former Conservative government obtained the injunction the following month.REUTERS
Source:The Times
July 16, 2025 14:25 UTC
Seaside fish and chip shop in Barmouth among UK's best
The experts at The Times have come up with a list of the UK’s best spots for seaside fish and chips. One person commented: "We pulled up in the car park and googled ‘Barmouth best fish and chips’ loads of info about the mermaid came up. "Literally the best chips ever, the curry sauce had a nice spice to it and my daughter had the fish and said it was amazing. RECOMMENDED READING:While another visitor added: "We visit Barmouth every year and by far the best fish and chips anywhere. Others have said The Mermaid has the "best Fish & Chips in the UK" and the food there is "heavenly".
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July 16, 2025 11:34 UTC
Rachel Reeves urged not to weaken UK’s post-crisis bank regulations
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July 16, 2025 10:25 UTC
Iran nuclear sanctions: UK, France, Germany threaten to 'snapback'; Tehran demands guarantees against future attacks
The United Kingdom, France and Germany have signalled they are prepared to reinstate United Nations sanctions on Iran by the end of August, in case there is no clear progress on restarting the nuclear deal, two European diplomats said on Tuesday (local time).Ambassadors from the three nations met at Germany’s UN mission in New York to discuss next steps, as concerns mount over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The issue was also discussed in a phone call on Monday between US secretary of state Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of the three countries, according to two American officials.Following the call, the US state department said that all four leaders had talked about “ensuring Iran does not develop or obtain a nuclear weapon.”The three European nations are signatories to the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, which was aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. The US pulled out of the accord during President Donald Trump’s first term, arguing the deal was not sufficient.Under the agreement, any party can trigger a “snapback” provision to reimpose UN sanctions if Iran is found to be non-compliant.French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot, said that the three European countries would be justified in reinstating sanctions.“With regard to Iran, the minister reiterated the priority of resuming negotiations to establish a long-term framework for Iran’s nuclear program,” said a French foreign ministry statement following after EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels.“Without a verifiable commitment from Iran by the end of August at the latest, France, Germany and the U.K. will be justified in reapplying the UN sanctions (snapbacks) that were lifted 10 years ago,” AP quoted the ministry.The exact terms of the deal under consideration have not been disclosed. However, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran would be open to resuming nuclear talks with the US, but only with guarantees that further strikes, such as recent Israeli and American attacks on its nuclear sites, would not happen again.“The attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has made it more difficult and complicated to achieve a solution,” Araghchi said, adding that a firm assurance against future strikes was necessary.The United States and Iran held multiple rounds of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme before Israeli strikes began in June. Last week, US President Donald Trump and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said fresh talks were expected soon, but no date has been set yet.In a CBS interview on 2 July, Araghchi maintained that Iran remained open to diplomacy, stating, “the doors of diplomacy will never slam shut.”Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian last week claimed US strikes had severely damaged key nuclear sites, making them inaccessible to Iranian authorities.In response, Tehran has halted cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).Iran’s UN mission declined to comment on Tuesday regarding the European threat to reinstate sanctions.
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July 16, 2025 09:53 UTC
Europe needs faster economic growth, not an unnecessary trade war
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July 16, 2025 06:53 UTC
UK CPI inflation unexpectedly rises to 3.6% in June
Live Events(You can now subscribe to our(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channelBritain's annual rate of consumer price inflation unexpectedly rose to its highest in over a year at 3.6% in June, up from 3.4% in May, above economists' expectations in a Reuters poll for the rate to remain unchanged, official figures showed on Wednesday.British inflation has risen steadily since touching a three-year low of 1.7% last September, and in May the Bank of England forecast it would peak at 3.7% in September - almost twice the central bank's 2% target.June's reading from the Office for National Statistics took the annual CPI rate to its highest since January 2024.Higher transport costs , especially motor fuels, were the biggest contributor to the rise in the inflation rate between May and June, the ONS said.Sterling rose slightly against the dollar after the data, which may put pressure on the BoE not to cut interest rates at its next meeting in August.Previously, April brought a particularly sharp jump in inflation to 3.5% due to rises in regulated energy and water tariffs, a spike in air fares, and upward pressure on the cost of labour-intensive services from a rise in employment taxes and the minimum wage.Despite this, Governor Andrew Bailey has said interest rates are likely to remain on a gradual downward path, as a weaker labour market puts downward pressure on wage growth and the outlook for economic growth remains lacklustre.The BoE has cut interest rates by four quarter-point steps since August and economists polled by Reuters last month forecast two more quarter-point rate cuts this year.However, some BoE policymakers are concerned that skills mismatches in Britain's labour market and other supply constraints will keep wage growth running too fast for inflation to return to target any time soon.Services price inflation, a measure the BoE views as a better guide to domestically generated price pressures than the headline CPI rate, held at 4.7% in June, in contrast to economists' forecasts for it to fall to 4.6%.The BoE's forecast in May that inflation would be back on target in the first quarter of 2027.
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July 16, 2025 06:34 UTC
Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage can educate one another
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July 16, 2025 05:37 UTC
'£7bn Afghan migrant cover-up' and 'Kitchen nightmare'
The Daily Telegraph leads with its take on the "£7bn Afghan migrant cover-up", saying the UK secretly offered asylum to 24,000 Afghans after a 2022 data breach exposed the names and personal details of 19,000 people. The paper says the scheme was kept secret for almost two years due to a super-injunction requested by the government. The paper reports that the government has moved about 18,500 Afghans to the UK so far. [BBC]The Daily Mirror headlines their lead on Torode's firing with "BBC's kitchen nightmare". The paper reports the men have both been jailed for four years after felling the world-famous Northumberland landmark in a fit of "drunken stupidity".
Source:The Times
July 16, 2025 04:01 UTC
Newspaper headlines: '£7bn cover-up' and 'Kitchen nightmare'
The Times calls the government's gagging order a "cover-up", external and says the leak risked the lives of up to 100,000 Afghans. The Daily Mail's front page features an image of an unmarked plane, external landing at Stansted Airport in 2024. The BBC's sacking of the Masterchef host, John Torode, also features heavily on today's front pages. The i Paper, external details Gloucester Cathedral's unusual idea to raise funds for repairs - by selling "blessed" beer. The paper features a photo of the Dean of Gloucester, who has teamed up with a local brewery to bless the appropriately named drink called "CathedrALE".
Source:The Times
July 16, 2025 02:23 UTC
In UK, tributes pour in for Fauja Singh after his death in Punjab
File photo: Fauja Singh (Picture credit: Sikhs in the city)LONDON: Tributes are pouring in from across the UK for Fauja Singh, the oldest marathon runner in the world, who died on Monday after being hit by a car in his Punjab village at the age of 114.Writer and filmmaker Captain Jay Singh-Sohal told TOI: “I met him many times. ”Fauja Singh discovered running in his 80s as a means of remaining active and lifting boredom as he became older. That led to depression and so he came to the UK to stay with his son, Sukhjinder, and lived in Ilford. Harmander trained him in just 11 weeks to run his first marathon, the London Marathon, in 2000, aged 89. Fauja Singh walked or jogged for 10 miles a day and ate a minimal diet, and was very light in weight.
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July 16, 2025 01:14 UTC
Everything you need to know about the 2025 Emmy nominations
Making the cut for the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards in the lead actress category is Jean Smart, who has won this award twice for her role in HBO Max’s “Hacks” as fierce stand-up comedian Deborah Vance. Example: He turns director Martin Scorsese’s idea for a drama about the 1978 Jonestown massacre into a branded film about the Kool-Aid pitcher. Ralph has previously won the award for her role as the veteran grade school teacher in Brunson’s ABC mockumentary series. Is it now James’ turn to win for her role as the stroppy principal of Abbott Elementary? O’Hara previously won the honor for her role in “Schitt’s Creek,” so maybe it’s Kathryn with a K’s turn?
Source:The Times
July 15, 2025 23:45 UTC
How the UK silenced a scandal: My two year battle to reveal the truth by Lewis Goodall
How the UK silenced a scandal: My two year battle to reveal the truth by Lewis GoodallCan justice, conducted in secret, ever truly be justice? I expressed my discomfort in court about the need to balance potential harm with the freedoms of the press. These proceedings were all in a secret court, court no 27 in the Royal Courts of Justice (in there, because it’s one of the only courtrooms which can be locked.) Even though we, the media parties, were under threat of prison if we revealed anything we heard in court, the truth is that it was a secret court within a secret court. Defending its right to secrecy over our right to know, cloaked under Afghans right to life, but not to know.
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July 15, 2025 23:38 UTC
UK’s Labour government facing backbench revolt over plan to repeal Troubles Legacy Act
British prime minister Keir Starmer is under pressure to change tack on plans to repeal the Legacy Act. Photograph: Isabel Infantes, WPA Pool/Getty ImagesA significant rebellion is brewing in the UK’s Labour Party over plans by Keir Starmer’s government to repeal the Legacy Act that gave immunity to British soldiers and others for acts committed during the Troubles. Labour MPs who spoke to The Irish Times acknowledged that a serious problem was brewing for Mr Starmer’s government over the issue. Mr Benn is due to publish legislation to repeal the Legacy Act in coming weeks. The Irish Times has sought a more detailed response from Mr Starmer’s office.
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July 15, 2025 23:20 UTC
How Melania Trump emerged as one of Zelensky’s key allies in the White House
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy noticeThe first lady could be President Zelenskyy’s unlikely ally in the White House, influencing Trump’s recent tougher stance on Russia. As the president this week decided to deliver Patriot air missiles to Kyiv, Melania Trump has been reminding him of the deadly toll of Russian airstrikes on Ukraine. Melania was born behind the Iron Curtain in 1970 and grew up in the former Yugoslavia. Please, if you can, donate to help them [International Red Cross],” she posted on X, formerly Twitter.
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July 15, 2025 22:46 UTC
IND vs ENG: King Charles III meets Team India, inquires about Akash Deep's cancer-stricken sister
He sounded like a gentleman, and it did not seem we were talking to the King of England. added the BCCI Vice President.On the absence of senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who retired from Tests before the series, Shukla said their decision was personal and respected by the board. Referring to Siraj’s dismissal, the King remarked on the misfortune of the ball rolling back to hit the stumps. Following that, he spent time with the Indian women’s team as well.Before meeting the King, the Indian contingent also had an informal interaction with British actor and musician Idris Elba. He asked us, like, how the travel was and all, and, um, it was really nice to meet him.
Source:The Times
July 15, 2025 22:36 UTC