UK Admits Data Leak Led to Afghan Evacuation

The UK government has publicly acknowledged that a February 2022 Ministry of Defence data breach, caused by a defence official mistakenly emailing sensitive Afghan personnel information, exposed nearly 19,000 Afghans who had assisted British forces. The breach went undetected until August 2023, when data appeared online and raised fears of Taliban reprisals. To protect those affected, the government established a secret evacuation scheme, the Afghan Response Route, under a superinjunction that prohibited any reporting about the scheme or the injunction itself for almost two years. Approximately 900 applicants and 3,600 family members have been relocated or are in transit, with costs surpassing £400 million so far and up to 20,000 people potentially requiring relocation. An independent review concluded the leak added limited new risk, as the Taliban may have already had similar information. The superinjunction was lifted in July 2025, and the government is now closing the secret route while moving toward greater transparency.