JAKARTA - The British government is drafting a secret scheme to bring thousands of Afghans to the UK after their personal data was revealed in one of the country's worst leaks, putting them at risk of retaliation from the Taliban after the group returned to power.
Individual concerns could be targeted by the Taliban to push the previous Conservative government into drafting a relocation scheme, which involved thousands of people and is estimated to cost the government around $2 billion.
Data leaks by the Ministry of Defense in early 2022, which led to data published on Facebook the following year, and the secret relocation program, subject to the so-called superinjunction that banned the media from reporting the incident, which was later lifted on Tuesday by the court.
British Defense Secretary John Healey apologized for the leak, which includes details about lawmakers and senior military officers supporting requests for assistance to Afghan soldiers working with the British military and their families to move to the UK.
"This serious data incident should never have happened," Defense Minister Healey told lawmakers.
"Maybe this incident happened three years ago under the previous administration, but to everyone whose data has been leaked, I would like to express my sincere apologies," he continued.
These incidents include among the worst security breaches in modern British history due to the costs and risks incurred to the lives of thousands of Afghans, some of whom fought alongside British troops to the withdrawal of their chaotic troops by 2021.
Defense Minister Healey said about 4,500 Afghans and their family members had been relocated or were en route to the UK via a previously undisclosed scheme.
However, he added that no more Afghans would be offered asylum for the data leak, citing a government review that found little evidence of the Taliban's intention to take revenge on former officials.
The review, whose summary was also published on Tuesday, said more than 16,000 people affected had been relocated to the UK as of May this year, although some of them have been relocated to the UK under existing schemes.
News of this leak comes as UK's public finances are tight and anti-immigration far-right political party, UK Reform, is leading the poll.
Pemerintah menghadapi tuntutan hukum dari mereka yang terdampak pelanggaran data, yang semakin menambah biaya akhir insider tersebut.
Sean Humber, a lawyer at Leigh Day who has represented Afghan citizens affected by previous data breaches, said those affected "most likely have strong claims for substantial compensation" for the anxiety and pressure caused by the leak.
The British military was first deployed to Afghanistan in 2001 after the September 11 attacks on the United States, playing a major role in combat operations there until 2014.
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In early 2022, a spreadsheet containing details of Afghans who had worked for the British government before the takeover of the Taliban in 2021 and had submitted a relocation request to the UK was accidentally sent via email to someone outside the government system.
The Superinjunction was first awarded in 2023 after the Ministry of Defense, under previous Conservative rule, argued disclosing data breaches to the public could put people at risk of extrajudicial killings or serious violence by the Taliban.
Later, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's centre-left government, which was elected last July, launched a review of court orders, violations and relocation schemes.
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