Thousands of Afghans were quietly relocated to the United Kingdom under a covert government programme created in response to a major Ministry of Defence (MoD) data breach, newly unsealed court documents have revealed.

In February 2022, the personal details of nearly 19,000 Afghans—who had applied to be resettled in the UK after the Taliban returned to power—were mistakenly leaked by a MoD official. The sensitive information, which included names, contact details, and family ties, appeared on Facebook, raising fears that those listed were at risk of Taliban reprisal.

It wasn’t until August 2023 that the government acknowledged the breach internally. In May 2024, it quietly launched a new relocation scheme, under which 4,500 Afghans have since been brought to the UK. However, the existence of both the breach and the relocation effort, officially known as the Afghan Relocation Route, was suppressed under a rare super-injunction—a legal gag order so broad it barred even reporting that the injunction existed.

That order was lifted on Tuesday by Mr Justice Chamberlain of the High Court, who ruled the super-injunction had “given rise to serious free speech concerns” and had “completely shut down the ordinary mechanisms of accountability which operate in a democracy.”

Speaking in the House of Commons following the court’s decision, Defence Secretary John Healey offered a “sincere apology” to those affected, calling the breach a “serious departmental error.”

“This was the result of a spreadsheet being emailed outside of authorised government systems,” Healey explained, adding that it was “one of many data losses” during the chaotic Afghanistan evacuation following the US withdrawal in August 2021.

Healey confirmed that around 600 Afghan soldiers and 1,800 of their family members whose details were leaked are still in Afghanistan. While the relocation programme is being wound down, the government has pledged to honour resettlement offers already made.

So far, the scheme has cost the UK taxpayer £400 million, with an additional £400–450 million projected, according to official figures.

The MoD has declined to state how many individuals may have been targeted, arrested, or killed due to the leak. However, Healey cited an internal review that found it was “highly unlikely” anyone was targeted solely because of the data compromise.

Nevertheless, Justice Chamberlain noted in his ruling that it was “quite possible” Taliban-linked individuals accessed the leaked data via Facebook.

Emails have now been sent to affected Afghans, warning them to exercise “caution,” protect their online identities, and avoid contact with unknown persons.

The existence of the secret programme has added to the scrutiny of the UK’s handling of its Afghan evacuation efforts. A 2022 inquiry by the Foreign Affairs Committee labelled the overall evacuation as a “disaster” and a “betrayal.” The original Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) brought around 36,000 Afghans to the UK in 2021, but thousands were left behind.

Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace personally applied for the super-injunction, according to court filings, to give the government time to help those potentially at further risk. The order was extended in November 2023 out of concern that the Taliban might not have known about the data leak. But on Tuesday, Mr Justice Chamberlain concluded that the Taliban “likely already possess the key information,” making continued secrecy unjustifiable.

Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge called the breach “an unacceptable breach of all relevant data protocols.” Human rights lawyers also condemned the incident.

Erin Alcock of Leigh Day, who represents hundreds of Arap applicants, described it as “a catastrophic failure” that placed lives in danger.

Earlier this month, the UK government confirmed it had offered compensation to some of the Afghans affected by a separate data breach.

As the relocation scheme comes to a close, questions are now swirling around how long the government kept affected individuals in the dark—and why accountability was avoided for so long.

Chioma Kalu

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