US Edition
Spies and special forces among more than 100 Britons whose details were included in Afghan data leak
UNITED KINGDOM, JUL 17 – The breach exposed nearly 19,000 Afghan applicants' data and forced a secret UK relocation scheme costing up to £850 million to protect those at risk, officials said.
- On Thursday, a data leak that led to the resettlement of thousands of Afghans in the UK also exposed the identities of more than 100 British spies and special forces personnel, news organisations reported.
- A defence official in February 2022 sent an insecure email that leaked personal data of nearly 19,000 Afghans, and the breach was kept secret by a superinjunction until this week.
- Around 4,500 Afghans have been relocated via the secret scheme launched in April 2024, costing about £400 million so far with a projected total of £850 million.
- Following the superinjunction lift, Defence Secretary John Healey said he was `deeply uncomfortable` with the leak and offered a `sincere apology` on behalf of the British Government, noting that a small number of MP, military and official names were included.
- ISC chairman Lord Beamish said the committee asked why government barristers told the Court of Appeal breach details were withheld, while the government plans to bring thousands of Afghans at an estimated cost of around £7 billion over five years.
94 Articles
94 Articles
Three years ago, the British Ministry of Defence made a mistake that put thousands of Afghans in danger, and the case has only now become public, because the government has muzzled the media.
Sordid scandal erupts in the UK over cover-up of military leak of Afghan names
Unacknowledged by all is the fact that any harm which might have come from the leak would have been just the latest blood spilled in a war jointly pursued by Labour and Tory governments, at the cost of up to 250,000 lives lost directly as result of the fighting, and countless more indirectly.
A major data breach has exposed the personal data of not only nearly 19,000 Afghans who helped Western forces fight the Taliban – including interpreters, aides and members of the Afghan army – but also the names of British intelligence agents and special forces soldiers.
Afghan data leak: how selective state secrecy and cover-ups can harm civilians
In 2022, somebody in the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) mistakenly shared a spreadsheet containing the personal information associated with 18,714 Afghans and their family members. This data breach, and the efforts to cover it up, raises serious questions about state secrecy, blame-shifting and accountability. After discovering the mistake in August 2023, the government covered up their spectacular error with an unprecedented injunction “contra mu…
Three years ago, the British Ministry of Defence made a mistake that put thousands of Afghans in danger, and the case has only now become public, because the government has muzzled the media.
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