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Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed the name of the contractor running the Ministry of Defence’s payroll system that was hacked by China.

Mr Shapps told parliament that SSCL (Shared Services Connected Ltd) is the contractor and their work is being reviewed across government following the cyber attack – which China has denied.

Politics Live: ‘Malign actor’ behind MoD hack – but government refuses to name China

The cabinet minister initially did not name the company operating the payroll, but told MPs that there is evidence of “potential failings” which “may have made it easier for the malign actor” to gain access to the bank details of service personnel and veterans.

In response, Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey said the government had “many serious questions to answer”, and went on to claim that “Shared Services Connected Ltd has the MOD contract for core payroll and other business services”.

Mr Shapps replied: “He has named the contractor that was involved, I can confirm that’s the correct name, SSCL.

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MP names contractor running hacked MoD system

“I’ve requested from the Cabinet Office a full review of their work across government as well as within MoD, which is underway.”

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Sky News revealed last night that the Chinese state had hacked the Armed Forces’ payroll system.

China said the accusations are “completely fabricated and malicious slanders”.

Names, addresses and bank details of current Army, Royal Navy and RAF personnel and some veterans were exposed by the hack.

SSCL is a subsidiary of the Paris-based tech company Sopra Steria. The company is the largest provider of business support services for the government and the UK military, as well as the Metropolitan Police Service.

Its website says it provides payroll, HR and pension services to 230,000 military personnel and reservists, and two million veterans, with a “wholly safe and secure service” that is “data protected to the highest levels”.

Rishi Sunak earlier refused to name China as the hacker but said Beijing has “fundamentally different values to ours” and it is “acting in a way that is more authoritarian and assertive abroad”.

‘State involvement’ can’t be ruled out

In his statement to MPs, Mr Shapps said that “state involvement” cannot be ruled out but also did not name China, saying the details of the suspected culprit can’t be released for national security reasons.

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PM defends ‘robust’ China policy

Former leader of the Conservative Party Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge “there is a resistance to want to call out what China really is”.

He said under the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme “there is the capacity to basically place them in the enhanced tier, which means they are a threat. And I would simply recommend that the government does that pretty quickly”.

The decision not to name Beijing was also criticised by former armed forces minister Mark Francois, who called for the government to “stand up” to China.

He told the Commons: “This will be very worrying for service personnel, their families and veterans.

“And they’ll be disrespected that the government seems to have briefed that it was China overnight and then not had the nerve to confirm that in the House today, because someone rang up from the Foreign Office and said ‘don’t do that’.”

Mr Shapps said the government did “everything we could” to avoid news of the hack being leaked before his statement to parliament, and that ministers wanted to prioritise closing the system down and ensuring personnel were paid “before we came to this house”.

“We most certainly did not wish to see or brief out the story. Unfortunately, because there are a large number of people potentially impacted it was almost impossible for people not to go and then talk about, and I believe that’s how it’s come into the public domain.”

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Ministers look odd as the government isn’t naming Beijing publicly
Beijing poses ‘constant’ threat to Western cybersecurity

He added: “We’ve launched a full investigation, drawing on Cabinet Office support and specialist external expertise to examine the potential failings of the contractor and to minimise the risk of similar incidents in the future.”

Mr Shapps said up to 272,000 service personnel may have been hit by the data breach and set out an eight-point plan to support and protect those potentially affected.

Initial investigations have found no evidence that any data has been removed, but affected armed forces personnel have been alerted as a precaution.

The payment network is “an external system completely separate to the MoD’s core network”, Mr Shapps stressed.

He apologised “to the men and women who are affected by this”, adding “it should not have happened”.

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London denied the country had anything to do with an MoD hack and said it had made “relevant responses” to accusations on the 25 and 27 March.

He accused the UK of politicising cyber security and claimed there was no factual evidence of China hacking the MoD.

Sky News has approached SSCL and Sopra Steria for a comment.

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IT issue affects flights at Edinburgh Airport

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IT issue affects flights at Edinburgh Airport

All flights were halted at Edinburgh Airport this morning due to an IT issue affecting its air traffic control provider.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the airport later announced service had resumed.

Its post read: “Flights have now resumed following the IT issue with our air traffic provider.

“We thank passengers for their patience and understanding.”

But passengers continue to feel the effects.

A Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Edinburgh was diverted to Dublin after going into a holding pattern over the Scottish capital.

And a live arrivals board on the airport’s website showed multiple flights diverted, delayed and cancelled.

Arrivals board at Edinburgh Airport. Pic: Edinburgh Airport
Image:
Arrivals board at Edinburgh Airport. Pic: Edinburgh Airport

Morven McCall and Cody Stevenson, both 19, were due to fly easyJet from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on their first trip away together.

Morven told Sky News: “We literally just got into the airport and as soon as we walked through the door there was an announcement that it had been cancelled.

“I was ill over the summer and had to cancel two holidays already, this was our first time going away together. We are just gutted and stressed.”

Follow live: Latest updates as flights halted

Arrivals at Edinburgh Airport. File pic: PA
Image:
Arrivals at Edinburgh Airport. File pic: PA

One passenger was on a plane when they found out.

They said: “We boarded our flight and pushed back on time for an 8.45 (am) departure, then sat for a while before the pilot told us what was happening.

“He updated us a couple of times, cabin crew are brilliant at handing out water etc, and I’m surprised that everyone appears to be upbeat. But then you do wonder how long for, just been told we’re hoping to be in the air in 20 minutes.”

Another passenger told us: “The first news was from the airport announcement as we were halfway through boarding, saying the airfield was closed due to air traffic control down.

“No one knew what was going on. We’d already been delayed a bit before boarding, with no reason. I suspect problems started about 9am.”

It comes after an earlier announcement that all flights had been halted.

“No flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport,” the previous statement said.

“Teams are working on the issue and will resolve as soon as possible.”

There was no timeframe for recovery initially, Sky News learned.

It’s understood by PA that the issue was not linked to today’s Cloudflare outage.

Edinburgh Trams also posted on X, writing: “If you’re travelling with us to @EDI_Airport this morning, please be aware that flights are not currently operating.”

The airport urged passengers to contact their airline for the latest information on flights.

An average of 43,000 passengers per day use the airport, which is served by 37 airlines flying to 155 destinations.

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Teenager fatally hit by car on motorway had been tasered by police, watchdog says

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Teenager fatally hit by car on motorway had been tasered by police, watchdog says

The police watchdog says it is investigating after a teenager who was tasered by an officer on a motorway was fatally hit by a car.

Logan Smith, 18, was being taken to hospital in an ambulance at about 11pm on Sunday when the vehicle stopped on the hard shoulder of the M5 in Somerset.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the vehicle stopped on the northbound carriageway “due to the concerns of ambulance staff”.

Mr Smith got out of the ambulance near the junction for Weston-super-Mare and “entered the live lanes of the motorway”, the watchdog added.

Police were called and an officer arrived at the scene, with bodycam footage showing the officer discharging their Taser, causing the teenager to fall to the ground.

“Soon afterwards” Mr Smith was struck by a car travelling on the southbound carriageway, the IOPC said.

The watchdog said it was investigating the “actions and decisions taken by Avon and Somerset Police prior to the death of a teenager”.

IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “My thoughts and sympathies are with Logan’s family and friends and everyone affected by this shocking and tragic incident. 

“We want to reassure everyone that we will independently investigate all the circumstances surrounding this incident, including the use of a Taser.

“After being notified by the force, we sent our investigators to the police post incident procedure to begin gathering evidence.

“We have taken initial accounts from the officer and ambulance staff involved.

“We met with Logan’s family on Tuesday, to give our condolences, explain our role and to provide some further detail about our investigation, including a Taser being discharged during the incident.

“We will continue to keep them updated and they request that their privacy be respected at such a difficult time.”

The coroner has been informed and formal identification and a post-mortem have taken place.

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Former doctor charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients

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Former doctor charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients

A former doctor has been charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients in his care.

Nathaniel Spencer, 38, has been charged with 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of assault by penetration, nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, three counts of assault a child under 13 by penetration and one count of attempted assault by penetration.

It follows a police investigation into alleged sexual offences between 2017 and 2021.

Staffordshire Police said in a statement the charges come after a complex investigation by the Public Protection Unit into sexual offences at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent, and Russells Hall Hospital, in Dudley.

North Staffordshire Justice Centre
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North Staffordshire Justice Centre

Ben Samples, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit and Serious Violence, Organised Crime and Exploitation Unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Nathaniel Spencer for a number of serious sexual offences allegedly carried out against patients while he was working as a doctor – including assault by penetration and sexual assault against a child.

“Our prosecutors have worked at length to support a detailed and complex investigation by Staffordshire Police, carefully reviewing the available evidence to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”

Spencer, from Birmingham, will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 20 January 2026.

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