Afghan data breach probe would have been impractical, UK watchdog tells lawmakers
By Patricia Figueiredo and Frank Hersey ( October 21, 2025, 14:41 GMT | Insight) -- The UK Information Commissioner has defended not opening a formal probe into the Ministry of Defence’s Afghan data breach, telling lawmakers that secrecy rules and having few security-vetted staff made a formal probe impractical. He said a government inquiry had identified the causes, and that working with ministries to raise data-security standards would have greater impact. His office's July communication on the case “could have been better," John Edwards acknowledged.The UK's chief privacy enforcer has defended his decision not to open a formal probe into the Ministry of Defence’s Afghan data breach, telling lawmakers that pursuing an investigation under secrecy restrictions would have been less effective than pressing government directly to strengthen data protection practices....
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