Taliban fighters 'have been brought to the UK on secret airlift flights' after Afghanistan data breach cover-up revealed by the Mail

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

Taliban fighters have been brought to the UK on secret airlift flights after the Afghanistan data breach cover-up revealed by the Mail.
This newspaper revealed earlier this month a British military official catastrophically wrongly shared a database of 100,000 Afghans who had applied for sanctuary in the UK.
The scheme was set up for those who worked with British forces to flee the murderous Taliban - so the disastrous leak amounted to giving a 'kill list' to the vengeful jihadist warlords.
The breach was discovered by the Mail in August 2023 - and so far, 18,500 of the Afghans it imperilled have been flown to Britain or are on their way in taxpayer-funded jets, under a covert airlift, codenamed Operation Rubific.
A total of 23,900 are earmarked for arrival. They are living in MOD homes or hotels until permanent homes are found.
Tens of thousands of others will be left behind in Afghanistan and will have to fend for themselves against vengeful Taliban warlords.
But now, former Taliban fighters themselves have reportedly been brought to this country under the airlift scheme, The Telegraph reports.
Sex offenders, corrupt officials and individuals put in prison under Afghanistan's US-led coalition are also among those accepted for resettlement in the UK.
It is because they were on the leaked list of names of Afghans who had applied to come to the UK.
Several individuals on list had also previously had their applications rejected for violent or sexual assaults.
A 23-month High Court super-injunction, only lifted this month, previously prevented the media reporting on the leak and the airlift operation, keeping the public in the dark.
Secret hearings in the High Court have also heard how Parliament has been deliberately kept oblivious – or even 'misled', as a judge was told.
Senior sources have now said people with Taliban connections managed to infiltrate the evacuation scheme and get fighters from the militant group to the UK.
They did so in some cases by naming the Islamic fundamentalists as relatives or dependents who would need to accompany them to this country.
One Afghan official revealed: 'We had civilians in our office who had clear ties with the Taliban.'
Another explained it was 'corrupt' Afghan officials who were getting people with Taliban connections to Britain, on the scheme intended for actual UK allies.
It was facilitated by UK officials tending to rely on these corrupt Afghan representatives for advice, they added: 'It's depressing.'
Another said: 'They are not good for Britain. They were fighting against British forces and killed lots of Brits but now are being fed by Brits in London.
'They have British blood on their hands.'
The Ministry of Defence has previously revealed some Afghans who entered the UK on the scheme brought more than 20 relatives with them.
Four such Taliban sympathisers who are said to have entered the UK under the airlift scheme have reportedly been named so far.
One, who came to this country before Kabul fell in 2021, is understood to have arranged for other Taliban-connected relatives to accompany him.
The MoD confirmed he is living in Britain - but did not confirm or deny whether his Taliban sympathiser family followed him.
It also confirmed another man - who was jailed for four years for selling Coalition weapons to the Taliban before his release when Kabul fell - is living in the UK too.
A third person, an alleged sexual offender, is understood not to have moved here yet - but his case is being worked through, according to defence sources.
The final individual is a British passport holder who allegedly vouched for Taliban sympathisers getting airlifted to the UK.
An MoD spokesperson did not comment directly on the claim this fourth person brought Taliban-connected people to the UK.
They simply said vetting procedures include biographic and document checks, not just recommendations.
It has previously been reported former soldier and reservist Robert Clark, who worked on the scheme, had been told by MoD officials full vetting had not been completed.
The Ministry of Defence has been contacted for comment.
It comes after the horrifying discovery Taliban warlords are on a vengeful killing spree against hundreds of Afghans after the British Government lost the top secret database.
One man was shot by a gunman who stepped from an alley earlier this month and fired four bullets at close range into his chest – one of three assassinations in the past seven days.
Panic has been spreading since Afghans were officially informed their personal details had been lost in the UK's worst ever data blunder, putting 100,000 'at risk of death'.
Thousands received 'notifications' from His Majesty's Government saying sorry, and adding: 'We understand this news may be concerning.'
It is not known if the Taliban actually has the database, which includes names of Afghans who helped the UK, as well as members of the British intelligence community, it is understood.
But one Afghan soldier, who fled to Britain for fear of retribution, believes his brother was gunned down in the street this week because the militant group was aware of his affiliation to the UK.
He said: 'If or when the Taliban have this list, then killings will increase – and it will be Britain's fault. There will be many more executions like the one on Monday.'
The Mail has seen a dossier of more than 300 murders that include those who worked with the UK and some who had applied for the UK scheme, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).
The murdered include Colonel Shafiq Ahmad Khan, a senior Afghan intelligence officer who had worked alongside British forces.
The 61-year-old grandfather was lured into a trap and shot twice in the heart on his doorstep in May 2022.
Others include commando Ahjmadzai, who applied for sanctuary in the UK, and soldier Qassim, both killed in April 2023.