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New Year Honours: Publication of addresses a ‘complete disaster’

The online publication of the addresses of more than 1,000 New Year Honours recipients was a “complete disaster”, a former cabinet minister has said.

Iain Duncan Smith, who was knighted, said ministers needed to ask “very serious questions” about how it had happened, while a former civil service chief called it a “serious failure”.

The Cabinet Office has apologised and says it is investigating.

Details of celebrities, senior police officers and politicians were released.

The list of 1,097 honours recipients – including high-profile names such as Sir Elton John, cricketer Ben Stokes, TV cook Nadiya Hussain and former director of public prosecutions Alison Saunders – was uploaded to an official website on Friday evening and removed on Saturday.

Most of the entries in the spreadsheet included full addresses – including house numbers and postcodes. The Cabinet Office said the document was visible for about an hour.

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  • Security Belt forces say a missile fired by the Houthis hit a military parade in the southern separatist-held town of al-Dhalea, killing at least five people and injuring others. There are no claims of responsibility for the attack. (Reuters)
• War in Donbass
  • The Ukrainian government and separatist rebels exchange prisoners according to the “all identified for all identified” formula agreed upon during peace talks in Paris earlier this month. (NBC)
• War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
  • Local officials say Taliban have killed 17 local militiamen in an attack on their base in Khwaja Bahauddin District, Takhar Province. A Taliban spokesman says they killed 21 gunmen. The Taliban propose a 7 to 10-day nationwide ceasefire, after which a peace deal with the United States would be signed. (Al Jazeera)
• 2019 United States bombing of Kata’ib Hizbollah
  • The United States Air Force carries out strikes using F-15E Strike Eagle jets and drones in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the death of an American civil contractor in a rocket attack on K-1 Air Base in Kirkuk Governorate. The strikes were targeted at the Iranian-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah militia group. A spokesman for Kata’ib Hezbollah, says 19 of its fighters were killed and 35 injured in the American strikes, while vowing to respond. (Reuters) (FRANCE 24) (The Washington Post)
  • Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi condemns the unilateral American bombings inside Iraq, saying the U.S. strikes are a “violation of Iraqi sovereignty”, and a “dangerous escalation that threatens the security of Iraq and the region.” (USA Today)
  • Iran warns of consequences after the airstrikes. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi stated it was “illegal” and “the United States must accept responsibility of the attack.” (CNN)
• Terrorism in Russia
  • Following a tip-off from the United States, Russia arrests two men planning a New Year’s Eve attack in the city of Saint Petersburg. (Sky News)
• Somali Civil War (2009–present)
  • The death toll of the attack in Mogadishu the previous day rises to 84 with over 25 others remaining missing. (Xinhua)
  • The United States target Al-Shabaab in a series of airstrikes that killed four. The strikes were in coordination with the government of Somalia. (DW News)

Arts and culture

• The world’s oldest rhinoceros, Fausta, dies in Tanzania at the age of 57. (BBC)

Business and economics

• Citizenship Amendment Act protests
  • The Indian tourism industry reports that, as a result of protests, December visits to the Taj Mahal and the state of Assam declined by 60% and 90% respectively compared to the same period last year. These declines are also occurring in the midst of general economic slowdown in the country. (Reuters)
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• Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo announces his country will adopt the eco as its new currency, but insists to fellow members of the currency union that it should not be pegged to the euro. (Reuters)

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• An official at Bangladesh‘s health directorate says at least 50 people have died of cold-related illnesses in December. A cold wave sweeps through the country, with a lowest recorded temperature of 4.5 °C (40.1 °F). (Thomson Reuters via CBC)

Health and environment

• 2019 Samoa measles outbreak
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Law and crime

• West Freeway Church of Christ shooting
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Politics and elections

• 2019 Guinea-Bissau presidential election
  • Citizens of Guinea-Bissau head to the polls in the second round of the country’s latest presidential election. (Reuters)

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