Thousands of Afghans Were Secretly Resettled in UK

Thousands of Afghans, including many who worked with British forces, have been secretly resettled in the UK after a leak of data on their identities raised fears that the Taliban could target them, the British government revealed Tuesday. The government said it is closing the program, which a rare court order had barred the media from disclosing, the AP reports.

• Defense Secretary John Healey told lawmakers that a spreadsheet containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to come to Britain after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was accidentally released in 2022 because of a defense official's email error. The government only became aware of the leak when some of the data was published on Facebook 18 months later.

• "To all those whose information was compromised, I offer a sincere apology today," Defense Secretary John Healey said in the House of Commons. He said he regretted the secrecy and has "felt deeply concerned about the lack of transparency to Parliament and the public."
• The then-Conservative government sought a court order barring disclosure of the leak, in an attempt to prevent the personal information being made public any further. The High Court issued an order known as a super injunction that barred anyone from revealing its existence. The government then set up a secret program to resettle the Afghans judged to be at greatest threat from the country's Taliban rulers.
• Some 4,500 Afghans—900 applicants and approximately 3,600 family members—have been brought to Britain under the Afghan Response Route program, and about 6,900 people are expected to be relocated by the time it closes, at a total cost of about $1.1 billion.
• The injunction was lifted on Tuesday in conjunction with a decision by Britain's current Labour Party government to make the program public. It said an independent review had found little evidence that the leaked data would expose Afghans to a greater risk of retribution from the Taliban. The review said the Taliban had other sources of information on those who had worked with the previous Afghan government and international forces.

• Around 36,000 Afghans have been relocated to the UK under other resettlement routes since 2021. Critics say that still leaves thousands of people who helped British troops as interpreters or in other roles at risk of torture, imprisonment or death.
• Taliban officials tell the Telegraph that the Taliban has been in possession of the list of names since it was leaked and efforts to hunt down the people on it have been stepped up in recent months. "Senior figures in the establishment in Kandahar are pressuring officials in Kabul to find them. They believe these individuals are still working with the British, and say the problem must be dealt with," one official says.