UK has ‘high confidence’ in US security measures despite Yemen group chat breach
The UK still has “high confidence” that its operational security measures “remain intact”, despite revelations of a major US security breach.
On Monday night, it was reported that senior American officials, including the defence secretary and national security adviser, texted plans for an attack on Yemen to a group chat on messaging app Signal that had accidentally included a journalist.
Asked about the incident on Tuesday, armed forces minister Luke Pollard told the Commons Defence Committee that no British service personnel had been put at risk as a result.
He added: “All UK service personnel are covered by our normal approach to operational security, and the committee will understand that I won’t go into the details of how we keep our involvement in any support for military operations in the Red Sea or anywhere else (secure).
“But we’ve got high confidence that the measures that we have got with our allies, including the United States, remain intact.”
The US carried out a series of air strikes against the rebel Houthi militant group in Yemen on March 15 following continued attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
But two hours beforehand, details of the attack had been sent to a Signal group chat that included the US vice-president JD Vance, defence secretary Pete Hegseth and secretary of state Marco Rubio, among others.
Signal chats are encrypted, but are not approved by the US government for discussion of classified material.
The use of the app to provide details of the airstrikes came to light because one participant had accidentally added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, to the group.
The US National Security Council said the group chat “appears to be authentic”, adding it was investigating how Mr Goldberg came to be included.
On Monday night, US president Donald Trump denied any knowledge of the breach, while a White House spokeswoman said the president retained “utmost confidence” in his national security team.
While Mr Pollard declined to comment on “how allies share their information”, he told the Defence Committee that UK personnel would face “a clear consequence and disciplinary process” for any similar breach of operational security.
