Person on no-fly list flown into UK from Afghanistan during evacuation operation, MPs told
A person from Afghanistan on the UK’s no-fly list has been flown into Birmingham as part of the British evacuation operation in a potential security breach, MPs have been told.
The individual, who is not being identified by the government, is understood to have reached UK soil on a British military plane, with officials being alerted “overnight”.
Afghanistan latest news – follow live updates
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Race against time to evacuate thousands of Afghans
The “no-fly list” is designed to block individuals who are considered a security threat from reaching the UK.
The government has looked at the case and decided “they are not a person of interest” and no further action will be taken, so the person is free to go.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “An individual was flagged to the Home Office as part of the rigorous checks process, involving the police, security services and others.
However, upon further investigation, they are not a person of interest to the security agencies or law enforcement.”
Tonight’s statement by the Home Office suggests big problems with the no fly list system since they let a flagged individual on the list enter the UK – then apparently later concluded that he should not have been blocked from coming in.
In a sense of the challenge facing British officials as they mount an urgent evacuation effort, the number of “hits” on the list over the past week is more than would normally be expected in a year.
But it is still only a tiny handful compared with the thousands of Afghans the UK has flown to safety from the Taliban, including former interpreters and other staff who risked their lives to support the British military and diplomatic mission in Afghanistan.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Evacuation ‘down to hours, not weeks’
If any assessment had found that the person did pose a threat, the UK government would not have been able to return them to Afghanistan after Britain suspended flights.
The news of the Birmingham case emerged at a briefing for MPs by ministers and officials.
Opposition MPs worried it could have been a security breach, although government sources said the fact the individual had been identified showed the list is working. They also stressed that people can be flagged on the “no-fly” list for a wide variety of reasons.
British officials at the airport in Kabul are warning of a spike in impersonations, forged documents and forged passports.
Ministers are saying this is why we cannot “open the gates” to allow anyone in without checks.
Sky News understands that the US does not have any such checks, and people will be processed in the US on arrival.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Will Taliban in power lead to terrorism?
MPs were told today that five people on Britain’s “no-fly list” attempted to leave Afghanistan with UK help. Four of the five were prevented from flying, but one person made it through to Birmingham.
The revelation was made by a senior Border Force official in a call to MPs earlier today. He also said that one more individual was intercepted in Frankfurt, and he was blocked from continuing his journey to the UK though his family were allowed to continue.
This is a significant increase in the number of people on the “no-fly” list trying to gain access to the UK.
Normally from Afghanistan, officials would get one attempt every four or five months – so five red flags in a week is a significant increase.
Kevin Foster, the Home Office minister, told MPs on the call that while the UK must help those under threat from the Taliban, they must be “mindful” of people who pose a threat to the UK.
Ministers are warning against diluting or speeding up checks to get desperate Afghans out of the country as the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warns the operation on the ground could be over in “hours now, not days”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Taliban warns of ‘consequences’
A government spokesperson said: “There are people in Afghanistan who represent a serious threat to national security and public safety.
“That is why thorough checks are taking place by government, our world-class intelligence agencies and others.
“If someone is assessed as presenting as a risk to our country, we will take action.”
British officials said there is a real risk of Islamic State militants seeking to exploit the UK’s emergency scheme designed to help former Afghan interpreters and other local staff who worked for the UK military and diplomats in Afghanistan over the past 20 years.
A huge effort is under way to run security checks on each application, but there is also an urgency to get families on to aircraft before Kabul airport’s evacuation mission is forced to stop – something that could happen imminently.
There is also a concern about Islamic State trying to target British troops conducting the evacuation by inserting a suicide bomber into the chaotic crowds massing outside the airport.
The longer the evacuation continues, the greater the risk, security sources said.
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Putin’s Victory Day parade explained
The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
👉Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim on your podcast app👈
Read more:
Russia’s VE Day parade felt like celebration of war
Michael Clarke Q&A on Ukraine war
Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of breaching ceasefire
The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
Read more from Sky News:
Man charged with murder of 87-year-old
Iranian arrested in counter-terror probe
Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway