Sir Keir Starmer has stated that former Conservative ministers have “serious questions to answer” regarding a data breach that exposed the personal details of thousands of Afghans who had assisted British forces.
The Prime Minister noted that the issues inherited by his government included a super-injunction preventing reporting of the breach and a “secret route” for affected individuals to enter the UK, which has already cost “hundreds of millions of pounds.”
In February 2022, a British official mistakenly leaked the data of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to relocate to the UK following the Taliban’s takeover.
The previous government became aware of the breach in August 2023 when the details were posted on Facebook.
Sir Ben Wallace, who served as Defence Secretary at the time, explained that the Conservative government sought a four-month injunction upon discovering the breach. A judge then converted this into a super-injunction, prohibiting any reporting of the court order’s existence.
Following a review, the super-injunction was lifted on Tuesday.
Sir Ben, who left his role in August 2023 and was succeeded by Grant Shapps, stated that he makes “no apology” for seeking the initial injunction.
He asserted that this was “not a cover-up” but an effort to protect potentially at-risk Afghans.
Speaking at the start of Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons, Sir Keir said: “There’s always been support across this House for the United Kingdom fulfilling our obligations to Afghans who served alongside British forces.
“We warned in opposition about Conservative management of this policy and yesterday, the defence secretary set out the full extent of the failings that we inherited: a major data breach, a superinjunction, a secret route that has already cost hundreds of millions of pounds.
“Ministers who served under the party opposite have serious questions to answer about how this was ever allowed to happen.”
An emergency resettlement scheme, the Afghanistan Response Route, was established in April 2024 for those affected by the breach, resulting in 4,500 Afghans arriving in the UK to date.
The scheme has cost £400m, with a projected final cost of approximately £850m. A total of 6,900 people are expected to arrive in the UK under this now-closed scheme.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) believes that 600 Afghan soldiers included in the leak, along with 1,800 of their family members, remain in Afghanistan.
The existence of the scheme was only revealed after the High Court lifted the super-injunction.
Explaining the decision, Mr Justice Chamberlain noted that the MoD’s internal review found that the Taliban “likely already possess the key information in the dataset” and that confirming its existence was unlikely to “substantially” increase the risk faced by those affected.
Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle told the House of Commons the super-injunction raised “significant constitutional issues”.
As MPs were unaware of the breach, it could not be raised in the Commons or examined by a parliamentary committee.
BBC News understands that ministers decided last autumn that they needed to look at whether to lift the super-injunction.
The super-injunction had been lifted by a judge in May 2024, the day before Rishi Sunak called the general election, but the then-Conservative government successfully appealed that decision.
Labour ministers are also facing questions over why the super-injunction was kept in place.
Downing Street defended the government’s decision to apply for the super-injunction to be extended, saying “there was significant work that needed to be done” to assess the situation.
A review looking at the possibility of lifting the super-injunction formally began in January.
The daughter of an Afghan translator whose details were leaked told the BBC’s Newsnight programme her whole family “panicked” when they found out about the breach.
“No one knows where the data has been sent to – it could be sent to the Taliban, they could have their hands on it,” she said.
Her grandmother, who is still in Afghanistan, is “completely vulnerable”, she added.
Asif Khan – not his real name – took part in joint operations with the British Army against the Taliban.
He was brought to the UK six weeks ago from Islamabad, after being told to move from Afghanistan to Pakistan to be evacuated.
Asif, who was emailed about the data breach on Tuesday, said he feared for the safety of his family, particularly his brothers.
“I really wish nothing [happens] to them since they were not part of any military operation with me,” he told the BBC.
“I have many colleagues [who] fought with us shoulder to shoulder but they [are] left in Afghanistan – I am particularity concerned about them now.”
In other developments:
Downing Street has not said whether the official responsible for the leak has faced disciplinary action but they are no longer in the same role.
Both Defence Secretary John Healey and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch have apologised on behalf of their parties for the breach.
The leak, which came after the withdrawal of US and UK troops from Afghanistan in 2021, involved the names of people who had applied to come to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme.
The scheme was open to Afghans who worked with the UK government, as well as their family members, and feared reprisals from the Taliban.
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The revelation of a major data leak and subsequent relocation of thousands of Afghans has raised serious questions.
The BBC’s Tom Symonds examines the controversy surrounding the breach, which was kept hidden for years.
Details of nearly 19,000 people who wanted to leave Afghanistan were mistakenly leaked three years ago.
The existence of the scheme could not be reported until now because of a court injunction.
The BBC’s security correspondent Frank Gardner analyses the leak of Afghan citizens’ data and the fallout.