Former defence secretary makes ‘no apology' for Afghan injunction
Sir Ben Wallace has said that the decision to apply for the gagging order was 'not as some are childishly trying to claim, a cover up' and that he believed that if the leak had been reported it would have 'put in peril those we needed to help out'.
It came as Defence Secretary John Healey said that the person involved was 'no longer doing the same job'.
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 Ministry of Defence only became aware of the breach when excerpts from the dataset were posted anonymously on a Facebook group in August 2023, and a superinjunction was made at the High Court in an attempt to prevent the Taliban finding out about the leak.
Writing in the Telegraph, Sir Ben said that when he was informed of the 'error' he was 'determined that the first priority was to protect all those that might be at risk'.
'I make no apology for applying to the court for an injunction at the time. It was not, as some are childishly trying to claim, a cover up,' he said.
'I took the view that if this leak was reported at the time, the existence of the list would put in peril those we needed to help out.
'Some may disagree but imagine if the Taliban had been alerted to the existence of this list. I would dread to think what would have happened.'
Sir Ben left office shortly after the then-government became aware of the breach, having announced some time earlier that he intended to step down as defence secretary.
The leak led to 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.
A total of around 6,900 people expected to be relocated by the end of the scheme.
It is understood that the unnamed official had emailed the dataset outside of a secure government system while attempting to verify information, believing the dataset to only have around 150 rows.
However, there were more than 33,000 rows of information which were inadvertently sent.
Downing Street declined to say on Tuesday whether the official involved had faced disciplinary action or was still employed by the Government.
Mr Healey later told the News Agents podcast that 'they are no longer doing the same job on the Afghan brief' and that 'this is bigger than the actions of a single individual'.
Pushed on whether anybody had lost their job, Mr Healey said: 'I'm actually not going to get into the personnel matters.'
The injunction was in place for almost two years – covering Labour and Conservative governments.
Mr Healey offered a 'sincere apology' on behalf of the Government in the Commons on Tuesday, and said he had been 'deeply uncomfortable' in being unable to speak about it in Parliament.
Kemi Badenoch also said sorry on behalf of the Conservatives.
Speaking to LBC on Tuesday evening, the Tory leader was asked whether she would apologise on behalf of the Conservatives who were in office at the time of the breach.
She said: 'On behalf of the government and on behalf of the British people yes, because somebody made a terrible mistake and names were put out there… and we are sorry for that.
'That should not happen. And this is one of the tough things about, you know, being a minister, which is why even the Government – the Labour Government, now this didn't happen when they were in power – they are apologising as well.'
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We've been calling and visiting their family members to track them down.' 7 The potential huge bill emerged as Nigel Farage claimed 'convicted sex offenders' are among the Afghans secretly airlifted into the UK Credit: PA 7 Defence Secretary John Healey insisted everyone had been checked 'carefully' for any criminal records Credit: PA In 2023, the Government launched a secret airlift, codenamed Operation Rubific, to smuggle around 4,500 people on the list to Britain. They are among 34,000 Afghans who have been offered new lives in Britain since the Taliban takeover. That number is expected to rise to 43,000 and the Government predicts the total cost will be £7billion. An MoD spokesman yesterday insisted a £1billion compensation bill was 'pure speculation'. He said: 'The Government inherited a deeply complex situation and since taking office, have taken appropriate action in line with the level of risk these individuals faced. 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That could see the overall compensation bill pass £1billion. The February 2022 leak was caused by a Special Forces soldier who accidentally shared a list of 18,714 people who had applied to flee to Britain in the wake of the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. The list included their last-known location s, how they served British forces, and in some instances who supported their claims — including MPs, Special Forces and spies. The leak, which included details of a 'secret route' for some of those affected to come to the UK, was only discovered when excerpts were put on Facebook in August 2023. Taliban warns thousands of Afghans secretly airlifted to UK 'we will HUNT you down' The next month, the Tory government used a superinjunction to stop journalists reporting the breach. It was extended until being lifted by a High Court judge this Tuesday. A defence source said yesterday: 'People on that list had fought with British forces in Afghanistan. 'They fought against the Taliban. First of all we let the Taliban take over, and then when these people came to us for help we put their lives in even more danger.' The potential huge bill emerged as Nigel Farage claimed 'convicted sex offenders' are among the Afghans secretly airlifted into the UK. The Reform UK leader said the rescue of almost 20,000 Afghans is a risk to women's safety — triggering a row with Labour and the Tories. Defence Secretary John Healey insisted everyone had been checked 'carefully' for any criminal records. And he said if Mr Farage had any hard evidence, he should report it to police. Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride also said Mr Farage should provide evidence for his claims. PM Sir Keir Starmer said the previous Tory government had serious questions to answer over the leak. Hunting people down Sir Ben Wallace, Defence Secretary at the time, insisted there was not a cover-up and the gagging order was to protect at-risk Afghans, and he made 'no apology' for doing so. 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A Taliban official said: 'We got the list from the internet during the first days when it was leaked. 'A special unit has been launched to find them and make sure they do not work with Britain. We've been calling and visiting their family members to track them down.' 7 7 In 2023, the Government launched a secret airlift, codenamed Operation Rubific, to smuggle around 4,500 people on the list to Britain. They are among 34,000 Afghans who have been offered new lives in Britain since the Taliban takeover. That number is expected to rise to 43,000 and the Government predicts the total cost will be £7billion. An MoD spokesman yesterday insisted a £1billion compensation bill was 'pure speculation'. He said: 'The Government inherited a deeply complex situation and since taking office, have taken appropriate action in line with the level of risk these individuals faced. 'We will do everything possible to defend against any compensation claims and any we do get, we will fight them hard.' 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Sir Keir Starmer said both former ministers had 'serious questions to answer' about the airlift that may ultimately cost an estimated £7billion. Ex-Tory MP Sir Jacob Rees Mogg also called on Sir Grant Shapps, who was Defence Secretary when the injunction became a superinjunction, to speak out on the revelations. And Reform UK's Zia Yusuf has called for a judge-led inquiry into the operation.
Times
24 minutes ago
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‘They're playing with our lives': Afghans rue placing trust in the UK
A t first, there was confusion. Thousands of Afghans started receiving emails on Tuesday morning warning them their personal information may have been 'compromised'. Then, at midday — when an unprecedented superinjunction was lifted in the High Court — there was panic. 'We understand this news may be concerning,' the email from the UK government told them. Afghans who had sought sanctuary in Britain were warned to 'exercise caution and not take phone calls or respond to messages or emails from unknown contacts'. They were told not to travel to third countries without a valid passport and visa. 'If you do so, you will be putting yourself at risk on the journey, and you may face the risk of being deported back to Afghanistan,' it said.
