Thousands of Afghans brought to UK under secret programme after data leak

Defence Minister John Healey says astir 4,500 radical are successful Britain oregon successful transit nether the concealed programme.

The United Kingdom acceptable up a concealed program to resettle thousands of Afghan radical successful Britain aft an authoritative accidentally disclosed the idiosyncratic details of much than 33,000 people, putting them astatine hazard of reprisals from the Taliban, tribunal documents showed.

A justice astatine London’s High Court said successful a May 2024 judgement made nationalist connected Tuesday that astir 20,000 radical whitethorn person to beryllium offered relocation to Britain, a determination that would apt outgo “several cardinal pounds”.

Britain’s existent Defence Minister John Healey told Parliament that astir 4,500 affected radical “are successful Britain oregon successful transit … astatine a outgo of astir 400 cardinal pounds [$540m]” nether the programme known arsenic the Afghan Response Route.

The authorities is besides facing lawsuits from those affected by the information breach.

A Ministry of Defence-commissioned reappraisal of the information breach, a summary of which was besides published connected Tuesday, said much than 16,000 radical affected by it had been relocated to the UK arsenic of May this year.

The breach revealed the names of Afghans who had helped British forces successful Afghanistan earlier they withdrew from the state successful chaotic circumstances successful 2021.

The details emerged aft a ineligible ruling known arsenic a superinjunction was lifted. The injunction had been granted successful 2023 aft the Ministry of Defence argued that a nationalist disclosure of the breach could enactment radical astatine hazard of extra-judicial sidesplitting oregon superior unit by the Taliban.

The information acceptable contained idiosyncratic accusation of astir 19,000 Afghans who had applied to beryllium relocated to Britain and their families.

It was released successful mistake successful aboriginal 2022, earlier the Defence Ministry spotted the breach successful August 2023, erstwhile portion of the information acceptable was published connected Facebook.

The erstwhile Conservative authorities obtained the injunction the pursuing month.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s centre-left government, which was elected past July, launched a reappraisal into the injunction, the breach and the relocation scheme, which recovered that though Afghanistan remains dangerous, determination was small grounds of intent by the Taliban to behaviour a run of retribution.

Healey said the Afghan Response Route has present been closed and apologised for the information breach, which “should ne'er person happened”.

About 36,000 much Afghans person been relocated to the UK nether different resettlement routes.

British troops were sent to Afghanistan arsenic portion of a deployment of the United States-led alleged “War connected Terror” against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces successful the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks connected the US.

At the highest of the operation, determination were astir 10,000 British troops successful the country.