It has been revealed that thousands of Afghans are being moved to the UK under a secret scheme which was set up after a British official inadvertently leaked their data.
Details about the blunder have finally been made public after a judge lifted a court injunction that had been sought by the government.
In February 2022, the personal details of almost 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, were leaked.
Sky News reports: Almost 7,000 Afghan nationals are being relocated to the UK following the massive data breach by the British military that the government tried to keep secret with a super injunction.
The blunder exposed the personal information of close to 20,000 individuals, endangering them and their families.
The UK only informed everyone on Tuesday – three and a half years after their data was compromised.
The Ministry of Defence said the relocation costs alone will be around £850m. An internal government document from February this year said the cost could rise to £7bn, but an MOD spokesperson said that this was an outdated figure.
However, litigation against the UK arising from the mistake could add additional cost, as well as whatever the government has already spent on the super injunction.
Details about the blunder can finally be made public after a judge lifted a super injunction that had been sought by the government.
Barings Law, a law firm that is representing around 1,000 of the victims, accused the government of trying to hide the truth from the public following a lengthy legal battle.
Defence Secretary John Healey offered a “sincere apology” for the data breach in a statement to MPs in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon.
He said he had felt “deeply concerned about the lack of transparency” around the data breach, adding: “No government wishes to withhold information from the British public, from parliamentarians or the press in this manner.”