Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Secretary of State for Defence on 7 May (HC Deb cols 466–467), how many retired military personnel have been affected by the data breach of the armed forces payment network; and what steps they are taking to reassure veterans that their personal details have not been disclosed.

At present there is no indication that this data has been accessed, exploited or made publicly available. This is being actively monitored. We have taken a precautionary approach of writing to those who have received salary or lump sum payments under either the Armed Forces Pension Scheme or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme since 2018.