The British government offered asylum to thousands of Afghans identified as being at risk from the Taliban after a massive data breach, according to newly released information.
In February 2022, a Royal Marine accidentally sent an email attachment containing the personal details of the asylum seekers’ families. Government efforts to retrieve the data failed, and a superinjunction—an unusually strict legal gag order that even prohibits mentioning its own existence—temporarily prevented media coverage of the leak.
The High Court lifted the superinjunction at noon on Tuesday, July 15th, allowing the public release of key details, including the estimated £6 billion (€6.91 billion) cost of the resettlement. According to the Court of Appeal, the number of people affected by the data breach may be between 80,000 and 100,000.
However, the Ministry of Defence puts the immediate number much lower, citing 4,500 Afghans who are either already in the UK or en route, with another 2,400 expected to arrive. Separately, 17,000 others are being granted asylum under different relocation programmes, but they were also impacted by the data leak.
With the superinjunction lifted, MPs—including Defence Secretary John Healey—can now openly discuss the matter. Healey estimates that only 6,900 Afghans will be resettled in the UK as a direct result of the data leak, under a dedicated scheme created to respond to the breach.
Described as the most serious data breach in UK history, the leak has endangered Afghan special forces who worked alongside British and American troops—known as the “Triples”—and added further strain to an asylum system already under heavy financial pressure.
