BBC: UK Secretly Relocates Afghans After Data Breach
The relocation of thousands of Afghans to the UK following a major data breach has raised questions about government transparency and accountability, with estimates suggesting a total cost of £5.5-£6bn for all relocation efforts since 2021.
A major data breach in 2022 led to the secret relocation of thousands of Afghans to the UK, with the government setting up a special route to help them escape the Taliban. The breach, which was discovered in August 2023, involved a leaked spreadsheet containing personal details of nearly 19,000 people who had asked to flee Afghanistan.
The leak, which occurred when a UK Special Forces official emailed a confidential dataset to the wrong people, sparked fears of a Taliban "kill list" and affected around 100,000 people, including family members. In response, the government established the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR) to offer those at risk a way out of the country. By May 2025, over 16,000 individuals deemed to be at risk had come to the UK through this route.
The financial cost of the secret relocation plan is estimated to be around £400m, with a total cost of £5.5-£6bn for all efforts to relocate Afghans since 2021. The government had attempted to keep the leak and subsequent relocation efforts under wraps, using a super-injunction to prevent the story from being made public. However, the injunction was lifted on Tuesday, raising concerns about the ability of the Commons to scrutinise the matter and accusations that the government failed to inform MPs about the leak.
The data breach and subsequent relocation efforts have significant implications for the UK government's handling of sensitive information and its response to humanitarian crises. As more details emerge, it is likely that the government will face further scrutiny over its actions and the measures it took to address the breach.