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.

In his first comments since news of an unprecedented superinjunction was made public, the ex-Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said his focus was on 'sorting out the mess and saving lives'