A spreadsheet containing the personal information of about 18,700 Afghans and their relatives – a total of about 33,000 people – was accidentally forwarded to the wrong recipients by email in February 2022, Healey told lawmakers in the House of Commons.

The leak came to light after a High Court judge in London lifted a rare and sweeping injunction on Tuesday that had previously barred any reporting on an email inadvertently sent by a Ministry of Defe

The U.K. government secretly resettled thousands of Afghans into the country following a data leak that reportedly jeopardized the lives of local allies.

The United Kingdom set up a secret plan to resettle thousands of Afghans in Britain after an official accidentally disclosed the personal details of more than 33,000 people, putting them at risk of reprisals from the Taliban, court documents have showed.

The British government hid a billion dollar plan to rescue Afghans who assisted its troops after a data leak exposed them to Taliban retaliation.

The government said that information about 18,000 Afghans was accidentally revealed in 2022. A legal order had prevented any reporting on the subject.

As the mood fouls over immigration policy, British officials bicker over the decision to allow thousands of Afghans who had not qualified for asylum

KABUL: The Taliban government said Thursday it had not arrested or monitored Afghans involved in a secret British resettlement plan after a data breach was revealed this week.

So far, 4,500 Afghans have come to the U.K. as part of the program. An additional 600, along with their immediate families, are set to arrive soon. The secret plan has cost £400m so far, and the Ministry of Defense is projecting a further cost of £400m to £450m. In U.S. dollars, this program will cost more than $1 billion.

Thousands of Afghans who worked for the British government were brought to the United Kingdom along with their families under a secret relocation scheme, after a major data breach in 2022 put them at risk of reprisals by the Taliban.

Manchester-based law firm Brings Legal stated it has already registered nearly 1,000 Afghan ARAP applicants for potential legal proceedings. These individuals were part of a UK government initiative to resettle Afghans who had worked alongside British forces and were at risk after the Taliban’s return to power.