UK Data Breach Exposes Afghan Allies - Secret Rescue Operation Launched

Super-injunction and covert relocation raise questions of responsibility and transparency.

LOS ANGELES - A major data breach in 2022 exposed the personal details of thousands of Afghans who worked with British forces, prompting a covert relocation operation and a two-year media blackout under a court-ordered “super-injunction” now made public.

According to the Financial Times, in February 2022 a British soldier sent an email containing a vast unencrypted database –revealing the identities of roughly 19,000 Afghan applicants, and an estimated 33,000 when including family members. 

The British Ministry of Defence did not discover the leak until August 2023, and then only after some of the data surfaced on Facebook.

The breach, British intelligence services suggested, placed thousands at risk of reprisal from the Taliban, the militant group that regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the U.S. and NATO withdrawal. Human rights groups say those named in the leaked documents faced threats of torture, kidnapping or execution.

In September 2023, the British government secured a “super-injunction” to prevent reporting on the incident, citing national security and the safety of those named. The court order prohibited media outlets from even acknowledging the injunction’s existence.

The super-injunction was the first, the Financial Times reported, ever to be obtained by the British government. Meanwhile, the government launched a covert evacuation effort known as the Afghan Relocation Response Route, which successfully relocated between 4,500 and 18,500 people. According to the FT, the operation could cost British taxpayers up to £7 billion, about $9.37 billion at current exchange rates, including future relocations.

More than 600 Afghans have filed claims seeking £50,000 apiece in compensation, nearly $67,000 each, potentially adding hundreds of millions to the total cost.

On July 15, Defence Secretary John Healey formally apologized, calling the incident a “serious error” and pledging to reform internal data protection practices. He also confirmed the relocation scheme would be closed after the final phase is completed.

Critics say the secrecy surrounding the breach delayed public accountability and may have cost lives. Advocacy groups argue that press freedom was suppressed at a moment when transparency could have prompted faster protection efforts.

A government-commissioned review has suggested the Taliban may have already acquired much of the data, and the secrecy surrounding the operation may have unintentionally increased the value of the leak.