Foreign Office's old IT is slowing UK's Ukraine response

Emails between people who previously worked for other departments are flagged as spam

Insiders have warned that out-of-date IT systems are causing "chaos" within the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), hampering the government's ability to respond to the Ukraine issue.

The revelation comes after a whistleblower said in December that poor IT support hindered thousands of Afghan attempts to get help during the fall of Kabul last year.

Employees who previously worked for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DfID) are still working on two separate security systems and different computer systems, according to The Guardian, despite the fact that the two departments merged to become FCDO nearly two years ago.

"Numerous crises have been worsened because of it," a senior official said.

The FCO and DfId security systems are incompatible with one another, causing confusion among the workforce.

Emails exchanged between people those who previously worked for either department are routinely flagged as spam, resulting in important messages being missed.

The issues also impact video conversations and how teams collaborate on important briefings.

When virtual meetings are arranged, sources said people from DfID are unable to participate properly if the invitation came from someone who had previously worked in the FCO.

Staff from the DfID can't join calls unless they're approved, and they are frequently unable to access data kept on their FCO colleagues' system.

Moreover, the FCO and DFID staff still use different HR systems, making it difficult for line managers with employees from another department to sign off yearly leave, complete evaluations, or authorise overtime.

Officials' capacity to work quickly during crises, such as the expected Russian invasion of Ukraine, is thought to be severely hampered by these IT issues.

Tensions between Ukraine and Russia are high, with Moscow amassing an estimated 100,000 troops near its extensive border with Ukraine.

"It ' s so much effort to try and track people ' s comments in briefing… It ' s basically making an hour-long job two hours, which is not the kind of time you have in these situations," one FCDO insider said.

In a statement to The Guardian, an FCDO spokesperson said that the UK has helped lead the diplomatic and deterrent effort in response to the crisis in Ukraine, and "this work remains a high priority for the department".

"All current staff are able to work on a shared FCDO Microsoft Teams platform," the spokesperson added.

In September, a survey conducted by the FDA union, which represents public sector workers, revealed that just 7.5 per cent of senior officials believed the creation of FCDO was a success.

Whistleblower Raphael Marshall, who worked in FCDO during the Taliban takeover in August 2021, told a parliamentary committee in December that the government handling of the Afghan evacuation was "chaotic" and "dysfunctional." He said poor IT support hampered hundreds of Afghan attempts to seek aid during Kabul's collapse.

Marshall said multiple technology issues, including email management, lack of tech expertise, a shortfall in PC availability, lack of login for secure IT systems, and collaboration restrictions hindered efforts to rescue Afghans eligible for entry to the UK.

He estimated that between 75,000 and 150,000 people, including dependents, applied for evacuation, but "fewer than five per cent of those received any assistance" from British officials.

It is clear that "some of those left behind have since been murdered by the Taliban," he said.

Computing's view:

The situation in Ukraine is a geopolitical crisis, and the UK should have the capacity to respond effectively - even proactively. Instead, we see the retelling of a common story in the public sector: managers make a decision with no thought for IT implementation, leaving tech teams to rush through a bodge job. The entire public sector needs to seriously rethink how it utilises IT, because having our hands tied on the world stage - even discounting the political fallout of Partygate and having a sitting Prime Minister under investigation by the police - is an embarrassment.