Thousands being relocated to UK after personal data leak of Afghans
London
Thousands of people are being relocated to the UK as part of a secret £850 million ($1.14 billion) scheme set up after a personal data leak of Afghans who supported British forces, it can now be reported.
A dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) was released 'in error' in February 2022 by a defence official.
The breach resulted in the creation of a secret Afghan relocation scheme - the Afghanistan Response Route - in April 2024.
The scheme is understood to have cost around £400 million so far, with a projected cost once completed of around £850 million.
Millions more is expected to be paid in legal costs and compensation.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) only became aware of the breach over a year after the release, when excerpts of the dataset were anonymously posted onto a Facebook group in August 2023.
Details on the dataset include the the names and contact details of the ARAP applicants and names of their family members.
ARAP was responsible for relocating Afghan nationals who had worked for or with the UK government and were therefore at risk of reprisals once the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
Between 80,000 and 100,000 people, including the estimated number of family members of the ARAP applicants, were affected by the breach and could be at risk of harassment, torture or death if the Taliban obtained their data, judges said in June 2024.
However an independent review, commissioned by the government in January 2025, concluded last month that the dataset is 'unlikely to significantly shift Taliban understanding of individuals who may be of interest to them.'
Around 4,500 people - made up of 900 ARAP applicants and approximately 3,600 family members have been brought to the UK or are in transit so far through the Afghanistan Response Route.
A further estimated 600 people and their relatives are expected to be relocated before the scheme closes, with a total of around 6,900 people expected to be relocated by the end of the scheme.
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