A data breach has compromised the identities of over 100 British officials, including members of the special forces and MI6, alongside placing thousands of Afghans at heightened risk of potential retribution, according to reports.
The ramifications of this breach were initially concealed by a court injunction, partially lifted on Thursday by a High Court judge.
This ruling allowed media outlets to disclose that sensitive case files within the compromised database contained the personal data of special forces personnel and intelligence officers.
Earlier in the week, the government acknowledged the inadvertent leak of data concerning nearly 19,000 Afghan individuals who collaborated with British forces during the 20-year conflict in Afghanistan and had sought resettlement in the UK.
Many of these individuals were assessed to be at significant risk of harm or death, given the Taliban’s pursuit of those who allied with the British government during the war.
This threat was a primary factor behind the imposition of a “super-injunction,” a restrictive order preventing the disclosure of the injunction’s very existence.
The breach, occurring in February 2022, went undetected by the government until August 2023. At that time, an individual in Afghanistan who had acquired the data posted a portion on Facebook, suggesting the potential release of the remainder.
The BBC reported on Wednesday that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) offered to expedite a review of the individual’s application and facilitated his entry into the country following the data posting – a sequence of events described by government sources as “essentially blackmail.”
The MoD has refrained from commenting on the individual’s actions but affirmed that “anyone who comes to the UK under any Afghan relocation schemes” undergoes “robust security checks in order to gain entry.”
The 2023 breach discovery prompted the government to discreetly establish the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR), a resettlement program for affected individuals. These individuals were not informed of the breach despite the risks to their safety.
The ARR has facilitated the relocation of 4,500 Afghans and their family members to the UK, with an additional 2,400 individuals expected, at an estimated cost of £850 million.
The accidental leak resulted from a UK Special Forces headquarters employee in London mistakenly emailing over 30,000 resettlement applications to an external recipient, believing the transmission was limited to data concerning 150 individuals.
Following the partial lifting of the super-injunction, a subsequent injunction restricted the disclosure of compromised special forces and security services personnel details.
However, that restriction was also lifted on Thursday after a compromise was reached between barristers representing the MoD and media organizations, enabling journalists to report on the additional facts.
Defence Secretary John Healey addressed Parliament on Tuesday, characterizing the breach as a “serious departmental error” and acknowledging that it represented “just one of many data losses” related to the Afghan relocation schemes.
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge issued an apology on behalf of the previous Conservative government, which held power when the leak was discovered.
The MoD has declined to comment on the potential harm inflicted upon individuals in Afghanistan due to the breach. The Taliban government stated on Thursday that it had not apprehended or monitored Afghans affected by the leak.
However, relatives of Afghans named in the leak told the BBC that they fear for their family still in the country, with one saying efforts by the Taliban to find their named relative intensified following the leak.
An MoD spokesperson stated, “It’s longstanding policy of successive governments to not comment on special forces.”
“We take the security of our personnel very seriously, particularly of those in sensitive positions, and always have appropriate measures in place to protect their security.”
Relatives worry the Taliban may intensify its search for those who worked with the UK in Afghanistan.
The revelation of a major data leak and subsequent relocation of thousands of Afghans to the UK has raised serious questions.
The BBC understands the individual, an Afghan national, is now living in the UK.
Details of thousands of Afghans who supported UK forces were mistakenly leaked under the last government.
Details of nearly 19,000 people who wanted to leave Afghanistan were mistakenly leaked three years ago.