Ministers have misled the High Court over the Afghan asylum super-injunction scandal, it has been revealed.
While Parliament and the public were kept out of the loop of the £7billion taxpayer-funded scheme, it has now emerged that even the judge – who granted the super-injunction on the premise he was updated – was also kept in the dark.
The Daily Mail are reporting that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) misled Mr Justice Chamberlain over the timing of a crucial internal review that was key to the scheme.
The scheme began after a UK database defence leak, putting 100,000 Afghans who had applied to a scheme offering sanctuary for those who had served British forces at “risk of death” from the Taliban.
The Government performed a “rescue mission” for those in the data leak to airlift them to the UK, at the cost of hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money.
Mr Justice Chamberlain accepted to extend the super-injunction for almost two years, on the condition he was kept fully informed of all developments.
He said the super-injunction shouldn’t last longer than necessary, adding it was “corrosive to the public’s trust in government” and “likely to give rise to understandable suspicion that the court’s processes are being used for the purposes of censorship”.
But, in February 2025, Government officials told the judge Defence Secretary John Healey was considering launching an internal review – the findings would ultimately lead to the judge lifting the injunction – but this was a lie, he had already commissioned it.
The fallout was uproar, with four parliamentary probes launched, and many left disgusted they had been left out of the process.
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AA President says mandatory eye tests for older drivers are ‘important’
The President of the AA has said that mandatory eye tests for drivers over 70 are “important”, due to the increased likelihood of drivers being involved in a crash.
Edmund King said Labour’s proposals to introduce eye and cognitive tests for older drivers are “obviously welcome”.
Mr King said: “It is important that the Road Safety Review covers eyesight tests.
“A move to make eye tests for older drivers mandatory is obviously welcome, especially as the likelihood of crashes increases once someone is over the age of 70 and markedly shoots up over the age of 80 to a peak at age 86, with eyesight often a worrying factor.
“Eye tests are free for people over the age of 60 anyway and healthcare professionals advise them every two years given they can help with diagnosis of other underlying conditions.
“In fact, the AA advises everyone to have an eye test every two years.”
The plans come as part of a new road safety strategy, which will be published on Wednesday.
WATCH: James Cartlidge says he is ‘happy’ with Venezuela outcome but ‘with caveats’
The Shadow Secretary of State for Defence has said he is “happy” with the outcome in Venezuela, but “with caveats.
James Cartlidge described deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by US forces over the weekend, as a “brutal dictator”.
Mr Cartlidge said that the next stage is “crucial” for US and Venezuela, who must work towards a “stable democracy”.
Maduro made his first court appearance in New York on Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to drugs, weapons and narco-terrorism charges.
Latest poll shows Labour below Tories
A new poll on voting intentions has found Labour below the Conservatives.
The poll, released by YouGov, Sky and The Times, sees Reform top the list at 26 per cent.
It is the Tories that find themselves second, with 19 per cent, and Labour trail on just 17 per cent – a drop of three percentage points.
This matches the party’s lowest per cent, previously reached in October, and marks the first time since the election that the poll has had Kemi Badenoch’s party ahead.
Government ‘clear with United States’ on Greenland stance
The UK Government are “really clear with the United States about where we stand on Greenland,” according to Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister said he would issue a “hands off” warning to President Trump, adding: “Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must decide the future of Greenland and only Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark.”
The comments come after the US President said “we need Greenland from the standpoint of national security”. This idea has been strongly rejected by Greenland’s Prime Minister and Denmark’s Prime Minister.
Mr Streeting has doubled down on the PM’s claims this morning. Speaking to Sky News, he said: “At a time when we can see the security of Nato members and the Alliance at threat, particularly from Russia, but also from our other adversaries, this is not the time to destabilise Nato and to undermine our collective security.
“We’re really clear about where we stand. We’re really clear with the United States about where we stand on Greenland.”
He added that, when discussing foreign policy, Sir Keir “chooses what to say, how to say it, and when to say it, very carefully.”
WATCH: Wes Streeting hails new NHS online system and tells GB News ‘everyone wins from this’
Wes Streeting spoke to the People’s Channel earlier this morning to discuss the newly-proposed NHS Online, which he says is “designed to make sure that people get faster access to specialist care”.
The Health Secretary said the new plans will make getting appointments “faster”, as he admits that waiting lists can be “worse in some areas of the country”.
Last month, it was revealed that more than seven million patients had waits of four weeks or more for a GP appointment.
October 2025 was the worst since records began, with 4.1 million patients waiting a month or more for a GP appointment, an increase of six per cent on last year, and more than 50 per cent on 2023.