UK Inquiry Finds Afghan Data Breach was 'Foreseeable' Error
The committee said the leak exposed data on more than 18,500 Afghan applicants and reflected weak controls, poor training and a culture of secrecy.
- On Thursday, the Commons' Defence Committee reported that the Ministry of Defence data breach exposed more than 18,500 Afghan resettlement applicants and was a 'foreseeable systemic failure' preventable with basic Excel training.
- Following the data leak in February 2022, government officials managed the breach response under an unprecedented superinjunction, which prevented public reporting of the incident for nearly two years.
- Investigators found the MoD failed to properly process applications from Afghan special forces, known as the 'Triples', who served alongside British units; by March 2026, the department had overturned 884 incorrect rejection decisions.
- Committee Chair Tan Dhesi criticized the department for using secrecy as a 'shield' against accountability, noting that the MoD lacked expertise to manage immigration casework and demanding a clear action plan.
- As of June 9, 2026, around 7,000 eligible individuals remain waiting to relocate to the UK, with 3,700 believed to be in Afghanistan, leaving vulnerable families in ongoing danger from Taliban reprisals.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Data breach exposing UK-allied Afghans to Taliban reprisals ‘completely foreseeable’
The UK defence committee has found a data breach which left UK-aligned Afghans exposed to the Taliban was “completely foreseeable”. The 2023 breach, kept secret until 2025 due to a court order, meant that a spreadsheet containing personal details of 18, 500 Afghans was made public. Afghan resettlement programme The Taliban took over Afghanistan after […] By Joe Glenton
Defence Committee Finds £850 Million Secret Afghan Resettlement Failure Was Preventable
The Commons’ Defence Select Committee has published its findings into the Afghan resettlement and data breach which led to the secret resettlement of 7,355 people in the UK. The total cost for that: £850 million… The committee found: The MoD has refused to verify that £850 million figure, and journalists who saw the closed court…
Sky News UK
Great Yorkshire RadioMoD breach was 'foreseeable' failure that left Afghans in danger, say MPs
The inquiry began last year after it was revealed the personal data of thousands of Afghans applying for relocation to the UK had been inadvertently disclosed in February 2022, six months after the Taliban took over the capital Kabul.
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