U.K. Secretly Resettled Thousands of Afghans After Data Leak, Confirms British Government
The British government disclosed that numerous Afghans, including those who assisted British forces, were covertly relocated to the U.K. due to concerns over their safety following a data breach. The government intends to terminate this undisclosed program.
Thousands of Afghans, including those who worked with British forces, have been resettled in the U.K. after a data leak exposed their identities, raising concerns about Taliban retaliation. The British government revealed this on Tuesday and announced plans to close the secret resettlement route.
Defence Secretary John Healey disclosed that personal information of nearly 19,000 Afghans seeking refuge in the U.K. was mistakenly released in 2022. In response, a secret program was initiated to relocate these individuals, with a court order preventing its disclosure.
The current Labour Party government decided to make the program public after an independent review found minimal risk of Taliban retribution due to the leaked data. Approximately 4,500 individuals, including 900 applicants and 3,600 family members, have already been resettled under this program, with an estimated 6,900 more expected to be relocated before its closure, costing £850 million ($1.5 billion).
Additionally, around 36,000 more Afghans have been resettled in the U.K. through other routes. British troops were deployed to Afghanistan post-9/11 to combat al-Qaeda and Taliban forces, with a peak presence of nearly 10,000 troops in Helmand province. Combat operations ceased in 2014.
According to the source: CBC.
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