Thousands Of Afghans Were Resettled In Britain After A Data Leak Put Them In Danger

LONDON — Thousands of Afghans including galore who worked pinch British forces person been secretly resettled successful nan U.K. aft a leak of information connected their identities raised fears that they could beryllium targeted by nan Taliban, nan British authorities revealed Tuesday.

The authorities now plans to adjacent nan concealed route.

Defense Secretary John Healey said a dataset containing nan individual accusation of astir 19,000 Afghans who had applied to travel to Britain aft nan Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was released successful correction successful 2022, and extracts were later published online.

That prompted nan then-Conservative authorities to group up a concealed programme to resettle nan Afghans. The authorities obtained a tribunal bid known arsenic a superinjunction that barred anyone from revealing its existence.

The injunction was lifted connected Tuesday successful conjunction pinch a determination by Britain's existent Labour Party authorities to make nan programme public. It said an independent reappraisal had recovered small grounds that nan leaked information would expose Afghans to greater consequence of retribution from nan Taliban.

"I person felt profoundly concerned astir nan deficiency of transparency to Parliament and nan public," Healey told lawmakers successful nan House of Commons.

About 4,500 group – 900 applicants and astir 3,600 family members — person been brought to Britain nether nan concealed program, and astir 6,900 group are expected to beryllium relocated by nan clip it closes, astatine a full costs of 850 cardinal pounds ($1.1 billion).

About 36,000 much Afghans person been relocated to nan U.K. nether different resettlement routes.

British troops were sent to Afghanistan arsenic portion of a deployment against al-Qaida and Taliban forces successful nan aftermath of nan Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. At nan highest of nan cognition location were almost 10,000 British troops successful nan country, mostly successful Helmand state successful nan south. Britain ended combat operations successful 2014.