Thousands of Afghans Secretly Relocated to Britain After Data Leak, Says UK Government

The British government has disclosed the scale and cost of a covert Afghan resettlement operation triggered by a sensitive data breach.

British Defence Secretary John Healey arrives in Downing Street, in London, on Sept. 3, 2024. Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire

Thousands of Afghans have been secretly resettled in the United Kingdom after a major data breach raised fears they could be targeted by the Taliban, the UK government said on Tuesday.

In early 2022, a spreadsheet containing the personal information of about 18,700 Afghan applicants who sought UK government support under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), and its predecessor, the Afghanistan Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme (EGS), was mistakenly released, the Ministry of Defence said in a July 15 statement.