LONDON, July 16:
Thousands of Afghans who assisted the UK during its mission in Afghanistan have been granted asylum under a secret programme launched after a major 2022 data breach, the British government disclosed on Tuesday.
Defence Minister John Healey revealed the scheme in Parliament following the lifting of a UK High Court gag order. The programme, initiated in April 2024, was designed to protect Afghans deemed at highest risk of Taliban reprisals after their identities were exposed.
In February 2022, a UK official mistakenly leaked a spreadsheet containing personal details of nearly 19,000 Afghan applicants who had sought relocation following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in August 2021. Healey called it a “serious departmental error,” stating lives may have been at risk.
To date, around 900 Afghans and 3,600 of their family members have been relocated or are en route to the UK under the Afghan Response Route, costing £400 million. Applications from 600 more have been approved, pushing the estimated total cost to £850 million.
In total, the UK has accepted nearly 36,000 Afghans under various relocation schemes since 2021.
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