More than 100 British intelligence officers, including members of MI6 and the elite SAS, have had their identities compromised in a major data breach related to the UK’s Afghan resettlement efforts, according to newly unsealed court documents. The breach, which also endangered nearly 19,000 Afghans who had worked with British forces during the 20-year conflict, was kept secret under a court-issued super-injunction until this week, reports BBC.
The data breach, which occurred in February 2022, stemmed from a critical mistake at UK Special Forces headquarters in London. An official inadvertently emailed over 30,000 sensitive applications for resettlement to an unauthorised recipient, mistakenly believing the file only included data on 150 individuals. The breach went undetected for over a year and came to light only in August 2023, when an Afghan recipient of the data posted part of it on Facebook, hinting at the possibility of exposing more.
Among the leaked documents were detailed personal records identifying British spies and special forces operatives, a revelation that was initially suppressed through a rare super-injunction preventing any reporting on the matter. That legal order was partially lifted on Tuesday and further relaxed on Thursday, following negotiations between media organisations and the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
In response to the breach, the UK government secretly launched the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR), a covert resettlement programme. So far, the scheme has helped 4,500 Afghans and their families relocate to the UK, with an additional 2,400 expected to follow—at an estimated cost of £850 million. Despite the risks, many of those impacted were never told their data had been compromised.
The BBC reported that the individual who posted the leaked data was later brought to the UK under expedited review—a move some government insiders described as “essentially blackmail.” The MoD has not commented directly on that case but said all Afghan arrivals undergo rigorous security checks.
Defence Secretary John Healey called the breach a “serious departmental error” and acknowledged it was “just one of many data losses” associated with the Afghan withdrawal. The shadow defence secretary also issued an apology on behalf of the previous Conservative-led government, which was in power when the breach occurred.
Although the Taliban has claimed it has not arrested or monitored any Afghans named in the breach, relatives of those listed say otherwise, reporting heightened threats and searches. The MoD has declined to state how many may have suffered as a result of the leak but reaffirmed its commitment to protecting sensitive personnel and operations.
The incident has renewed concerns about data security within the government and raised questions about the protection of both UK operatives and Afghan allies in the aftermath of the military withdrawal.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
