The British government secretly relocated over 19,000 Afghans to the UK in 2021 and 2022 after they worked with British diplomats, aid workers, or military forces in Afghanistan. The relocation was part of a program aimed at thanking these individuals for their service and safeguarding them from potential Taliban retribution.
However, a data breach in February 2022 exposed personal details of the relocated Afghans, including names, contact information, and family data. This breach was kept secret from senior government officials until August 2023, more than a year later.
A court ruling this week revealed that Britain’s defense secretary at the time, Ben Wallace, had sought a super-injunction to prevent media reporting on the breach for two years, thereby protecting the most vulnerable Afghans. This move was criticized as stifling accountability in a democracy.
The government has since relocated over 4,000 more Afghans under a new program called the Afghan Relocation Route, with a price tag expected to exceed $1 billion. The revelation has sparked mounting scrutiny from politicians across parties and raised concerns about Britain’s responsibility to those who risked their lives working alongside U.K. forces.
Experts argue that such relocations are not only morally necessary but also hold future national security implications. A parliamentary review is expected, which may shed more light on the failure and subsequent secrecy surrounding the data breach.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2025/07/16/nx-s1-5469830/the-u-k-government-secretly-relocated-thousands-of-afghans-to-britain-for-two-years