A secret £850million scheme was set up after details of those who supported British forces emerged, it can now be reported after an unprecedented superinjunction was lifted
Thousands of Afghans are being secretly relocated to the UK after a shocking data leak led to 100,000 people being put at risk of death.
A catastrophic error led to a dataset containing the names of those who helped British forces being released in 2022, it can finally be reported. Extracts from this database appeared on Facebook around a year later – sparking fears it could be used by the Taliban to compile a “kill list”.
A secret scheme was set up to bring those on the list to safety, known as the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR). Its existence can now be reported after an unprecedented superinjunction preventing details being released was lifted.
Successive Governments spent billions of pounds covering it up, The Times reports. Defence Secretary John Healey told MPs that publicising the leak would “increase the risk of the Taliban obtaining the dataset”. He said he had been “deeply uncomfortable” withholding details, and had ordered a review into the unprecedented injunction.
He told the Commons an official inadvertantly sent a list containing tens of thousands of names while trying to verify applications for those fleeing the Taliban. He said: “This was a serious departmental error, it was in clear breach of strict data protection protocols.”
Hundreds of those identified are preparing a lawsuit against the Government, expected to cost the taxpayer at least £250million, it is reported.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) only became aware of the breach over a year after the release – when excerpts were anonymously posted on Facebook in August 2023. An interim injunction prevents the media from reporting what was leaked.
The Times, which has been locked in a lengthy legal battle to lift the superinjuction, reports that an operation named Operation Rubific was launched to shut down the leak and prevent details becoming public.
It is estimated that £7billion of taxpayers’ cash was set aside to deal with the aftermath of the catastrophic failure. A dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) was released “in error” in February 2022.
This led to a secret Afghan relocation scheme – the Afghanistan Response Route – being created over two years later, in April 2024. This is understood to have cost around £400million so far.
A review ordered by Mr Healey found that the injunction may have raised the value of the dataset to the Taliban. The study, carried out by retired civil servant Paul Rimmer, found that the intent of the Taliban to target those named had “diminished”.
In his written ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said the superinjunction was granted and continued because of the risk of harm to those affected by the data breach. He said: “It was granted and continued because of the risk that, if the Taliban learned about the existence of the dataset, it is likely that they would be able to acquire it and would use it to identify those who had applied for relocation and target them for extra-judicial killing or severe physical ill-treatment.
“The super-injunction is now being discharged following a review commissioned by the Ministry of Defence, which concludes that the Taliban likely already possess the key information in the dataset, that it is unlikely that individuals would be targeted simply because of their work for the UK or allied governments or for the former Government of Afghanistan and that the acquisition of the dataset is accordingly unlikely substantially to raise the risk faced by the individuals whose data it includes.”
Following Mr Justice Chamberlain lifting the superinjunction, Erin Alcock, a human rights lawyer at law firm Leigh Day, who has previously assisted hundreds of Arap applicants and family members, said that there had been “rumours circulating of an incident of this kind for some time”.
She said: “The news today is extremely concerning. We have been aware of rumours circulating of an incident of this kind for some time and have been concerned about any potential risks posed to our clients, particularly those remaining in Afghanistan.
“Sadly, this incident represents a catastrophic failure by the Government to protect the personal information, and therefore the safety, of what is an extremely vulnerable group of individuals.
“We will be urgently seeking clarification as to which of our many clients may have been affected and confirmation that all necessary precautions have and will be taken to mitigate any risk of harm to them.”