Three key questions after Afghan data leak sparked unprecedented secret evacuation
What can be done about the danger of leaks?
It has happened before and it will doubtless happen again. Think Wikileaks, Snowden and all the countless cyber-hacks and ransomware suffered by companies on an almost daily basis. Data leaks are not new but sometimes – and it is quite possible that this is one of those times – they can be life-threatening. The revelations that have come to light will have sent a chill down the spine of hundreds, possibly thousands, of Afghans who fear retribution by the Taliban. For those already spirited out to Britain, it means they can probably never go back home as long as the Taliban are in power.For the 600 former Afghan government soldiers and their estimated 1,800 dependants still in Afghanistan, the news will mean they are unlikely to breathe easily until the UK delivers on its promise to get them safely out. It's important to bear in mind that all this was not the result of some deliberate, sophisticated cyber attack by a state-backed hacking group. It evolved from an unintentional mistake made by just one individual working for the Ministry of Defence.
What does this say about Britain's moral responsibility?
UK forces were deployed to Afghanistan, alongside US and Nato allies, over a period of almost 20 years, from October 2001 to August 2021.During this time they worked closely with their Afghan government allies, relying heavily on their local knowledge and expertise. The most sensitive area was in Special Forces (SF), for whom the Taliban reserved a particular hatred. When Kabul and the rest of Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in the summer of 202, there was a realisation that those now-former Afghan SF soldiers and their families were a priority for relocation to safety. But thousands more Afghans also risked their lives to work with the British over those two decades. Many did it out of patriotism, believing they were working to secure a better Afghanistan.Some did it for the money, some did it because they trusted Britain to safeguard their lives and their personal details. A data breach like this now threatens to undermine any future promises by a British official who says: "Trust us, your data is safe with us."
Was there a cover-up?
When this "unauthorised data breach" was finally discovered, a full 18 months after it occurred, the UK government obtained what is known as a super-injunction, preventing its publication by the media. A super-injunction is so draconian that it means you cannot even report the fact that you cannot report it. That measure has only just been lifted now, following an independent review. There is a logical case to be made that this measure was necessary to protect the lives of those affected by the data breach. However, questions are now being raised about whether the injunction - applied for by the previous, Conservative government - might also have been for political purposes. The High Court judge who lifted the super-injunction, Mr Justice Chamberlain, said that it had "had the effect of completely shutting down the ordinary mechanisms of accountability which operate in a democracy".
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Scottish Sun
18 minutes ago
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MoD braced for £1billion compensation bill after 100k lives put at risk of Taliban death squads by Afghan leak scandal
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Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
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Thanks for saving us, now we'll sue you: Afghan data disaster takes bleakly predictable twist as ambulance-chasing lawyers cash in
Taxpayers face a potential £1billion bill as law firms race to cash in following the Afghan data disaster. Legal companies have begun signing up thousands of claimants who could, it is claimed, pocket up to £250,000 each in compensation. The Government admitted 100,000 Afghans had been left 'at risk of death' from the Taliban by a catastrophic leak of a database of those who had applied to the UK for sanctuary. There were fears it would be used as a 'kill list'. As exclusively discovered by the Daily Mail, but kept hidden by a super- injunction, ministers launched one of the biggest peacetime evacuations in modern British history to rescue thousands and airlift them here in secret. Last October, ministers in charge of the scheme agreed to spend £7billion, with taxpayers neither asked nor told, the High Court heard. Now the compensation bonanza could send costs soaring as law firms plan class action court cases for damages. The floodgates will also open to thousands of legal challenges on behalf of Afghans previously refused sanctuary in Britain, lawyers believe. The Mail has established Manchester-based Barings Law intends to carve off 25 per cent of the value of each successful claim and hopes to bank in excess of £100million. The huge potential bounty for the law firm is an industry standard figure and is capped under UK law. Barings has already signed up approaching 1,000 Afghans included on the database, according to a legal source. Tonight Adnan Malik, the firm's head of data protection, insisted: 'This is about more than just money. 'It is about accountability. Barings Law is giving a voice to people who have lost their homes, livelihoods and liberties as a result of this debacle.' The Ministry of Defence has vowed to 'fight hard' any compensation claims from Afghans. The data blunder happened when a British soldier accidentally emailed out a database with details of 18,800 people who had applied to a UK scheme to reward loyal Afghans who had worked with UK forces or officials and now feared reprisals from the Taliban. British military and government officials were also named on the database, which has been seen by the Mail. Today, commons defence committee chairman Tan Dhesi MP told the BBC: 'This email could be one of the most costly email blunders in history'. The Government is facing mounting pressure to explain its unprecedented super-injunction – which meant for two years Mail journalists faced jail if they breathed a word of the scandal. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was today said to be 'angry' when he discovered the programme – and the secrecy around it – on taking power. Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, meanwhile, said the whole episode 'raises significant constitutional issues' after MPs were also kept completely in the dark. Two Parliamentary probes were launched today, after the super-injunction was lifted after 683 days enabling the Daily Mail to finally reveal its astonishing exclusive story. Cloaked by the news blackout, the ministers' secret resettlement scheme has seen thousands smuggled out of Afghanistan and flown to Britain at vast cost. Every few weeks, unmarked government charter planes are landing at airports including Stansted and RAF Brize Norton packed with hundreds of Afghans. So far 18,500 Afghans whose data was breached have been flown to Britain or are on their way in taxpayer-funded jets. A total of 23,900 are earmarked for arrival. The MoD said some of them would have come anyway regardless of the data leak. But those whose personal details were breached can expect to win damages. The Mail has seen a WhatsApp message being widely circulated around Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UK encouraging people to sign up to claims against the MoD being brought by Barings. Specialists have been drawing up scales for case values, based on a claimant's whereabouts, the extent of the data breach and the threat to their lives. Mr Malik said: 'We have a long history of successfully pursuing data breach cases. This is perhaps our most significant to date. The victims have been exposed to not just financial harm, but the real threat of violence and death. 'In some cases, these threats have been tragically carried out.' He added: 'We would expect sums upwards of five figures for each person affected.' Some claims are anticipated to be substantially higher, and once the Government's costs accrued in processing the claims are included, the overall exposure to taxpayers is put at be between £500million and £1billion. Claimants can apply for compensation on the basis of a threat to their livelihood, even if they have moved to Britain. This is because they could claim they face reprisals from the Afghan community in this country. Other companies expected to join the race include Leigh Day, a firm known for helping hundreds of Afghans in other cases. The data leak also means a previous decision to turn down an Afghan's application could be appealed, which could lead to years of further legal challenges. The Mail already knows of several cases where a rejected Afghan mounted a legal challenge only for ministers to mysteriously, and suddenly, concede the case without giving a reason why – the suspicion being that the Government secretly knew that the Afghan concerned was on the dataset. Lawyers are set to mount a series of legal challenges known as Judicial Reviews. The first, they say, is likely to be against the Government's closure earlier this month of the flagship Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy without warning. They will claim the scheme was 'cynically closed' just days before the data leak was revealed – to prevent an expected 'deluge' of fresh relocation applications. Thousands have been rejected for ARAP and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, which has also closed. Lawyers say they will review all the rejections. A spokesman for the MoD said tonight: 'We will do everything possible to defend against any compensation claims. 'We have taken appropriate action in line with the level of risk these individuals faced. Any claims we do get, we will fight them hard.'
