Latest news with #Afghan relocations
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on the Afghan leak superinjunction: a dangerous precedent is set
One of many extraordinary features of the data breach that put tens of thousands of Afghan lives in jeopardy is the length of time between the original leak and the government taking action. The email containing a highly sensitive dataset was sent from a Ministry of Defence computer in February 2022. Ministers were not aware of the problem until August 2023. The fact that the MoD's systems were lax enough for the error to have been made is worrying enough. The delayed response is more alarming still. And then there is the disturbing mechanism by which the whole scandal was kept from the public eye. There was an argument on safety grounds for keeping the existence of the leaked list secret. Applicants to the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (Arap), a scheme to expedite asylum for people who had worked with British forces in the country, would be natural targets for vengeful Taliban hit squads. A judge deemed the risk severe enough to grant the MoD's request for an injunction on reporting the breach and upgraded it to a 'superinjunction' – a prohibition on reporting the existence of reporting restrictions. This powerful suppressive tool is usually associated with cases of celebrities guarding their privacy, and even then it is controversial. There is no known precedent for its deployment to protect the government from scrutiny in a case of manifest public interest. Mr Justice Robin Knowles took the view that the Arap applicants' right to safety should take precedence over the freedom of the press to report the leak. That may have been a worthy argument in 2023 – but not in perpetuity. However, ministers regularly sought to renew the superinjunction, citing increasingly spurious premises. It was almost removed in May 2024, but restored on appeal. It was only lifted this week after an internal government review, commissioned by the defence secretary, John Healey, found that being identified in the data breach should no longer be considered a matter of life and death. It would 'simply be another factor in exacerbating a person's existing vulnerability'. How, why and when the balance of risk shifted is unclear. It happened over many years under multiple defence secretaries, straddling a change of government. Over the same period, hundreds of millions of pounds were spent on an emergency resettlement scheme for people affected by the data breach – an expensive policy on a matter of great political sensitivity run entirely below the radar of parliamentary scrutiny or any other mechanism of accountability. Meanwhile, many of the legal arguments that led to renewal of the superinjunction were held in closed court. The grounds for keeping the blanket of secrecy in place were themselves wrapped in an extra layer of secrecy. Such a process goes against fundamental principles of open justice. In an era of depleted trust in politics, its deployment to keep a serious scandal from public view is also corrosive of democracy. A dangerous precedent has been set. Lifting the superinjunction doesn't in itself bring transparency. But it does at least permit overdue questions about how the data breach happened, the timeliness and effectiveness of the MoD's response, and why no one has been held to account. The current Labour government was not responsible for keeping the public in the dark for so long, but it will be judged on its willingness to let the light in now.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Healey: Accountability starts now over Afghan data leak and injunction
Defence Secretary John Healey has said that 'accountability starts now' after an injunction blocking reporting about the leak of data on Afghans who supported British forces was lifted. His Tory predecessor, Sir Ben Wallace, has said he makes 'no apology' for applying for the initial injunction and insisted it was 'not a cover-up'. Thousands of people are being relocated to the UK as part of a secret £850 million scheme set up after the breach. Mr Healey was informed of the breach, which dates back to 2022, while in his shadow role in opposition and earlier this year, he commissioned a review that led to the injunction being lifted. 'Accountability starts now, doesn't it, because it allows the proper scrutiny of what went on, the decisions that Ben Wallace took, the decisions I've taken, and the judgments… and any action or accountability that may be appropriate can follow now,' he told BBC Breakfast. A dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) was released 'in error' in February 2022 by a defence official. The Ministry of Defence only became aware of the breach when excerpts from the dataset were posted anonymously on a Facebook group in August 2023, and a super-injunction was granted at the High Court in an attempt to prevent the Taliban from finding out about the leak. Sir Ben said he had applied for a four-month injunction and did not know why it was converted into a super-injunction in September 2023, by which time Grant Shapps had taken over as defence secretary. 'But nevertheless, I think the point here is I took a decision that the most important priority was to protect those people who could have been or were exposed by this data leak in Afghanistan, living amongst the Taliban who had no regard for their safety, or indeed potentially could torture them or murder them,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He had defended his decision in an article in the Telegraph. 'I make no apology for applying to the court for an injunction at the time. It was not, as some are childishly trying to claim, a cover-up,' he said. The leak led to the creation of a secret Afghan relocation scheme – the Afghanistan Response Route – in April 2024. The scheme is understood to have cost around £400 million so far, with a projected final cost of about £850 million. A total of around 6,900 people are expected to be relocated by the end of the scheme. It is understood that the unnamed official emailed the data outside a secure government system while attempting to verify information, believing the dataset to only have around 150 rows. However, more than 33,000 rows of information were inadvertently sent. Downing Street declined to say on Tuesday whether the official involved had faced disciplinary action or was still employed by the Government. Asked if they had faced any sanctions, Mr Healey said he was not going to 'lead a witch hunt after a defence official'. 'This is much bigger than the mistake of an individual,' he told the BBC. He had confirmed the previous day that they were no longer doing the same job on the Afghan brief. The injunction was in place for almost two years, covering Labour and Conservative governments. Mr Healey said he was 'comfortable' he had not misled people but that parliamentary committees would now have a chance to scrutinise the decision he and other ministers before him had made, in remarks to Times Radio. He had offered a 'sincere apology' on behalf of the Government in the Commons on Tuesday, and said he had been 'deeply uncomfortable' being unable to speak about it in Parliament. Kemi Badenoch has said sorry on behalf of the Conservatives for the leak. 'On behalf of the government and on behalf of the British people, yes, because somebody made a terrible mistake and names were put out there… and we are sorry for that,' she told LBC. Between 80,000 and 100,000 people, including the estimated number of family members of the Arap applicants, were affected by the breach and could be at risk of harassment, torture or death if the Taliban obtained their data, judges said in June 2024. However, an independent review, commissioned by the Government in January 2025, concluded last month that the dataset is 'unlikely to significantly shift Taliban understanding of individuals who may be of interest to them'.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Healey: Accountability starts now over Afghan data leak and injunction
Defence Secretary John Healey has said that 'accountability starts now' after an injunction blocking reporting about the leak of data on Afghans who supported British forces was lifted. His Tory predecessor, Sir Ben Wallace, has said he makes 'no apology' for applying for the initial injunction and insisted it was 'not a cover-up'. Thousands of people are being relocated to the UK as part of a secret £850 million scheme set up after the breach. Mr Healey was informed of the breach, which dates back to 2022, while in his shadow role in opposition and earlier this year, he commissioned a review that led to the injunction being lifted. 'Accountability starts now, doesn't it, because it allows the proper scrutiny of what went on, the decisions that Ben Wallace took, the decisions I've taken, and the judgments… and any action or accountability that may be appropriate can follow now,' he told BBC Breakfast. A dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) was released 'in error' in February 2022 by a defence official. The Ministry of Defence only became aware of the breach when excerpts from the dataset were posted anonymously on a Facebook group in August 2023, and a super-injunction was granted at the High Court in an attempt to prevent the Taliban from finding out about the leak. Sir Ben said he had applied for a four-month injunction and did not know why it was converted into a super-injunction in September 2023, by which time Grant Shapps had taken over as defence secretary. 'But nevertheless, I think the point here is I took a decision that the most important priority was to protect those people who could have been or were exposed by this data leak in Afghanistan, living amongst the Taliban who had no regard for their safety, or indeed potentially could torture them or murder them,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He had defended his decision in an article in the Telegraph. 'I make no apology for applying to the court for an injunction at the time. It was not, as some are childishly trying to claim, a cover-up,' he said. The leak led to the creation of a secret Afghan relocation scheme – the Afghanistan Response Route – in April 2024. The scheme is understood to have cost around £400 million so far, with a projected final cost of about £850 million. A total of around 6,900 people are expected to be relocated by the end of the scheme. It is understood that the unnamed official emailed the data outside a secure government system while attempting to verify information, believing the dataset to only have around 150 rows. However, more than 33,000 rows of information were inadvertently sent. Downing Street declined to say on Tuesday whether the official involved had faced disciplinary action or was still employed by the Government. Asked if they had faced any sanctions, Mr Healey said he was not going to 'lead a witch hunt after a defence official'. 'This is much bigger than the mistake of an individual,' he told the BBC. He had confirmed the previous day that they were no longer doing the same job on the Afghan brief. The injunction was in place for almost two years, covering Labour and Conservative governments. Mr Healey said he was 'comfortable' he had not misled people but that parliamentary committees would now have a chance to scrutinise the decision he and other ministers before him had made, in remarks to Times Radio. He had offered a 'sincere apology' on behalf of the Government in the Commons on Tuesday, and said he had been 'deeply uncomfortable' being unable to speak about it in Parliament. Kemi Badenoch has said sorry on behalf of the Conservatives for the leak. 'On behalf of the government and on behalf of the British people, yes, because somebody made a terrible mistake and names were put out there… and we are sorry for that,' she told LBC. Between 80,000 and 100,000 people, including the estimated number of family members of the Arap applicants, were affected by the breach and could be at risk of harassment, torture or death if the Taliban obtained their data, judges said in June 2024. However, an independent review, commissioned by the Government in January 2025, concluded last month that the dataset is 'unlikely to significantly shift Taliban understanding of individuals who may be of interest to them'.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Thousands relocated to UK after data leak on Afghans who helped British forces
Thousands of people are being relocated to the UK as part of a secret £850m scheme set up after a personal data leak of Afghans who supported British forces, it can now be reported. A dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (Arap) was released 'in error' by a defence official in February 2022. The breach resulted in the creation of a secret Afghan relocation scheme – the Afghanistan Response Route – in April 2024. The scheme is understood to have cost about £400m so far, with a projected cost once completed of about £850m. Millions more is expected to be paid in legal costs and compensation. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) only became aware of the breach more than a year after the release when excerpts of the dataset were anonymously posted on to a Facebook group in August 2023. More details soon …
