British spies and special forces exposed in Afghan data leak
Scores of special forces personnel and spies' identities are understood to have been included in a spreadsheet containing the names of almost 25,000 Afghan soldiers, government workers and their family members.
They had applied to be moved to the UK after the Western military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, but found themselves in potentially more danger of Taliban reprisals after the list was published online.
Among the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) personnel named are reported to be senior military officers including a major-general and a brigadier.
Identities of spies and special forces soldiers are among the British state's most closely guarded secrets.
One of the most damaging leaks of classified information in history, the scheme to relocate around 24,000 Afghans to Britain will cost up to £7bn.
Johnny Mercer, the former Conservative veterans' minister who served in Afghanistan, said it was 'gut-wrenching' to learn that the identities of UKSF soldiers and MI6 agents had likely fallen into the hands of the Taliban.
Mr Mercer said: 'I fought in Afghanistan to defeat the Taliban. It is gut-wrenching, after all that blood was spilt, that this database may have fallen into their hands.
'I don't disagree with the decision to get the injunction when this first came to light but it was mad that it went on for so long.
'Now people need to be able to protect themselves. And we must look after these Afghan Special Forces properly.'
Mr Mercer believes that members of the so-called Triples – Afghan special forces who worked with British personnel – should all be brought to the UK for their own safety.
Ministry of Defence (MoD) lawyers applied for a last-minute injunction banning the press from reporting the detail, even as they accepted that a super-injunction blocking any mention of the Afghan data leak would be discharged.
After that super-injunction was lifted, The Telegraph was able to report on Tuesday that Taliban sources claimed to have obtained the spreadsheet in 2022 – potentially more than a year before the MoD knew it had been accidentally leaked.
The fact that the leaked database included details of MI6 operatives and UKSF personnel was reported by the Sun and the Daily Express on Wednesday and Thursday, yet the MoD insisted for most of Thursday that those facts could not be reported by press outlets that were subject to the original super-injunction.
It can also be reported now that James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, asked in Parliament about whether 'an apparent third party who obtained some of the data was engaged in blackmail' against the MoD.
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