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The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Afghans ‘at risk of being radicalised in the UK' as Home Office urged to investigate threat
Afghans evacuated to safety in Britain are at risk of being radicalised because they may feel let down by their new life in the UK, a review into the catastrophic Ministry of Data data leak has warned. Paul Rimmer, the former deputy head of Defence Intelligence who led the government's review into the data breach, warned that competing pressures on the UK housing system and wider public services meant there was a 'growing gap' between the expectations and reality of life in Britain for Afghans who resettle here. His review urged the Home Office to investigate the risk of radicalisation further, warning that Afghanistan is 'becoming a base for a wide range of terrorist groups'. Under secret plans to evacuate Afghans affected by the breach to the UK, ministers had approved a scheme which estimated that ten per cent of refugees could become homeless. Those brought to Britain are housed in temporary accommodation for nine months before, in most cases, being expected to find their own homes. The review found that many might not have anywhere to live long-term. The findings were revealed in a new version of the report, which was shared with media parties to the superinjunction case, after a private version of the report was 'opened-up' by lawyers, allowing it to be shared. Mr Rimmer's review said experts, including NGOs and independent case workers, who gave evidence to the review, 'expressed concern around the risk that resettled Afghans could be radicalised in the UK'. It said there 'is a risk of a growing gap between resettled Afghans' expectations, and the reality of what ever-more stretched domestic services can deliver'. Some experts also 'highlighted concerns around the extent to which Afghanistan is becoming a base for a wide range of terrorist groups', prompting Mr Rimmer to urge the Home Office to investigate the issue 'in more detail'. It was revealed last week that around 18,700 Afghans who had applied to relocate to Britain over safety fears had their names and contact details exposed in a catastrophic MoD data leak. The breach happened when a member of the armed forces emailed a secret database to trusted contacts in February 2022. The blunder, which was only discovered in August 2023, resulted in some 16,000 Afghans being relocated to Britain as part of a covert operation over fears they would be targeted by the Taliban The operation was only publicly revealed last Tuesday after an unprecedented superinjunction banning details of the leak from being reported was lifted after nearly two years of secrecy. The trigger behind the lifting of the was Mr Rimmer's review which concluded that, while the Taliban does commit reprisals against former Afghan security forces, being identified on the dataset was unlikely to constitute sole grounds for targeting. It comes as prime minister Sir Keir Starmer told MPs on Monday that ministers were 'quite uncomfortable' about the continuing superinjunction when they discovered its existence on taking office in 2024. Sir Keir told the Liaison Committee: 'It was a shocking inheritance, we inherited the breach, the injunction and a secret scheme. A number of us were quite uncomfortable about that which is why we set up the review to ask the question, is it necessary for these arrangements still to be in place? That produced an answer, which was no.' Asked why it took Labour a year to come to that view, Sir Keir responded: 'It was a very complicated review... I wanted the review to be as careful as it could be. That was a risk assessment which held people's lives in it.' The prime minister's comments come as an accompanying report to the policy review revealed that more than 1,300 Afghans have become homeless and been given emergency housing help by councils since July 2023. Over 100 families were living in temporary accommodation, such as B&Bs and hotels, as of April this year. Under the government's Afghan Resettlement Programme, which covered public and secret resettlement routes for Afghans to come to the UK, around 10 per cent of Afghans were estimated to become homeless. Officials estimated this would be around 730 people a year, but the government review said this was 'overly optimistic', as it was overly reliant on Afghan families being able to find their own private rented accommodation. Ministers have now closed the secret ARR scheme, but will honour sanctuary invitations already sent out and will continue to process cases in the two public Afghan resettlement schemes. A government spokesperson said that all arrivals 'have to undergo robust security checks, including for national security. If they don't pass these checks, they are not granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK'. He added that the government is 'working with local authorities to ensure housing solutions meet the needs of the UK population, as well as Afghans who are resettling here'.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Some Afghans brought to the UK could be 'radicalised' here, ministers are warned - as the numbers expected to present as homeless are feared to be worse than previously thought
Ministers have been warned that some Afghans airlifted to Britain could become 'radicalised' by terror groups. The fears were set out in the Government's internal review of the scheme to rescue thousands from the clutches of the Taliban. The review also revealed that, amid the UK's housing crisis, more Afghans could end up homeless than previously thought. Local authorities struggling to find homes for the new arrivals may also face a funding shortfall, ministers were warned. Whitehall officials have been outlining the potential consequences of the Government's secret Afghan airlift – Operation Rubific - for many months. Last October, when Labour ministers agreed to spend £7billion, they were told that 10 per cent of the incoming migrants were anticipated to 'enter the homeslessness system' and that there could be threats to 'community cohesion'. Pressures on local education and health services were also cited. In his internal review of Operation Rubific, Paul Rimmer, a retired civil servant who interviewed more than a dozen experts including from the Home Office 's homeland security group, stated: 'Several…expressed concern around the risk that resettled Afghans could be radicalised in the UK.' Mr Rimmer, who interviewed officials from across Whitehall, said: 'There is a risk of a growing gap between resettled Afghans' expectations, and the reality of what ever-more stretched domestic services can deliver. Some also highlighted concerns around the extent to which Afghanistan is becoming a base for a wide range of terrorist groups.' Mr Rimmer noted that the 'UK domestic housing system is under acute pressure' and said there were 'record levels of homelessness', with pressures adding to 'risks to community cohesion'. He said these were 'all key areas for public debate', but the Government's super-injunction had 'stopped this scrutiny being possible'. The news blackout was imposed in August 2023 after the Daily Mail discovered the British military had put 100,000 people 'at risk of death' by losing a database of Afghans who had applied for UK sanctuary. Since then, the Government has been running a secret immigration scheme to rescue thousands of them. After ministers were warned one in 10 of the new arrivals was expected to 'enter the homelessness system', a new Whitehall briefing paper, seen by the Mail, now says it might be even worse. The paper states: 'There are concerns this is overly optimistic.' Officials said uncertainties over the scheme, which relies on many Afghans being able to find their own private accommodation, meant the true numbers 'presenting as homeless' after their nine months of free accommodation could be higher than 10 per cent. The review noted that while the average Afghan family was five people, about 10 per cent of Afghan families consisted of eight or more people, making it especially difficult to find them suitable accommodation. In Bracknell, Berkshire, where 300 Afghans are being accommodated in a hotel, locals have said they welcome the Afghans who fought alongside British forces and deserve British help, but also said many local veterans have struggled to find homes themselves. The Government's decision to embark on the scheme without MPs or the public having any say has so far triggered four parliamentary inquiries. A Government spokesman said: 'As with all those arriving to the UK, all those found eligible for the ARR have to undergo robust security checks, including for national security. If they don't pass these checks, they are not granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK. 'We are working with local authorities to ensure housing solutions meet the needs of the UK population, as well as Afghans who are resettling here. This includes through the Local Authority Housing Fund, which supports English councils to obtain temporary accommodation for those owed a homelessness duty.'
Daily Mail
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Defence Secretary Healey told in April that news blackout on Afghans was probably unjustified
Defence Secretary John Healey was briefed in April about the likely outcome of the Ministry of Defence's review into the Afghan airlift – three months before the super-injunction was lifted, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The judge has expressed 'concern' over the MoD's sluggish pace in bringing its review to court. The Mail fought for two years in secret courts to reveal the Government's covert airlift of thousands of Afghans after it put 100,000 'at risk of death' by leaking a database of those who had applied for UK sanctuary. During the news blackout, last October ministers signed off a £7billion plan while parliamentary scrutiny was 'in the deep freeze'. After the draconian court order was finally lifted last Tuesday, Mr Healey told the Commons: 'I have felt deeply concerned about the lack of transparency to Parliament and the public.' He said he had commissioned an internal review by civil servant Paul Rimmer at the beginning of the year, to test whether the threat to Afghans was still as bad. The review was handed to Mr Justice Chamberlain at the end of June. But The Mail on Sunday understands from informed sources that Mr Rimmer was giving the Defence Secretary regular updates and that, by April, Mr Healey was aware of his report's likely conclusions – that the threat assessment had changed meaning there was no longer any justification for keeping everything a secret. After he finally got his copy, Mr Justice Chamberlain told the court: 'There are things which will have to be investigated out of the report. 'Further steps are going to have to be taken to discover why some of the details contained in that report were not made known before now.' In his final ruling at the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday, the judge said Mr Rimmer's assessments were 'very different from those on which the super-injunction was sought and granted'. Journalists, including from the Mail, warned in private court hearings that Parliament's summer recess was fast approaching, and the judge brought forward the lifting of the injunction. When he first tried to lift the super-injunction, in May last year, Mr Justice Chamberlain ruled that the 'continued stifling of public debate' was not justified. The MoD – then run by Grant Shapps – responded by hiring one of Britain's most expensive KCs, Sir James Eadie, to overturn the judge's decision. After the scandal was made public, Mr Healey was asked on Sky News why everything was kept secret for so long. He replied: 'The super-injunction was a matter for the court.' Last week, Downing Street defended Mr Healey. No 10 said his statement to the Commons on Tuesday, in which he said that 'to the best of my knowledge' no serving Armed Forces personnel were put at risk by the breach, was 'accurate'. But it was reported days later that MI6 spies and members of the SAS were among those named. The MoD was asked to comment on Mr Healey finding out about the likely conclusions of the report.
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Afghans have been betrayed yet again by this shocking UK data leak – and many don't even know if they're affected
The headline figures are eye-watering. Up to 100,000 Afghans could have been placed at risk after a British soldier, according to the Times, sent the names of 33,000 people who supported British forces to a contact he hoped would help verify their applications for sanctuary in this country. The story behind these numbers is one of real people who had already been living in fear for years, and who have been treated abhorrently by the British state. As soon as it became clear that the information could fall into the Taliban's hands and lead to these people being targeted, the highly secret Operation Rubific was launched. This debacle occurred under the previous Conservative government, which obtained a superinjunction preventing several media organisations that were aware of the leak from reporting on it. The current government commissioned an independent review ordered by the defence secretary, John Healey, into the level of risk to those whose details are contained in the leaked database. It was carried out by the retired civil servant Paul Rimmer. He concluded that if the Taliban has acquired or does acquire this database it is unlikely to substantially change an individual's exposure, given the volume of data already available. Today at noon, the superinjunction was lifted. This conclusion raises questions about why it was allowed to continue for so long. Until now the Afghans affected, reportedly 24,000 of whom have already been brought to the UK or will come in the future, were not aware of the full facts. Many more on the database remain in Afghanistan or in a precarious situation in neighbouring countries. Many who fled to Pakistan and Iran have been rounded up and sent back to Afghanistan, where they live in daily fear of being targeted by the Taliban, whether or not their names are on the leaked database. Immigration lawyers with Afghan clients had not been informed about the leak and were puzzled about why some of their clients who were seeking asylum in the UK were granted leave to remain outside the rules. Today it has become apparent why this happened: the government knew more than it was letting on about the very real level of risk some of these Afghans were exposed to. But much still remains unknown about today's revelations – exactly who is affected, what is the likely risk to them and their families, and whether or not this information is already known to the Taliban. It isn't the first time personal data relating to Afghans who worked with overseas forces in Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover in August 2021 has leaked. One interpreter airlifted to the UK with his family soon after the takeover started receiving threatening messages from the Taliban on his Afghan number – he had brought his Afghan sim card with him for ease of communication with family members who remained in hiding. 'It was terrifying to wake up in the morning, put my Afghan sim into my phone to pick up family messages and hear these threatening messages from the Taliban saying they knew where I was living in London and that my family and I were in danger,' he said. Rimmer's findings are likely to give little comfort to the tens of thousands of Afghans who put their trust in British and American forces and worked with them for many years. Many were already living in fear. Not knowing whether or not their names are being viewed by the Taliban can only compound that feeling. Today the focus is rightly on the disclosure of the gigantic leak, but this bigger issue has been affecting many Afghans since the fall of the Taliban and will continue to affect them for many years to come. While responsibility to protect Afghans who put their trust in overseas governments does not lie with the UK alone, and should be shared equally between the countries that pulled out in August 2021, the truth is that many lives are now at greater risk because of the countries that hastily and chaotically abandoned Afghanistan. It is no coincidence that in 2023 and 2024, Afghanistan was the top country of origin for people who had crossed the Channel in small boats. For them, the dinghy is the last-chance saloon when they have no other option to reach safety. Many want to come to the UK for the same reason British officials in Afghanistan sought them out: because they speak excellent or perfect English. But we have shut them out of the legal routes to arrive here, which are all now closed. Jamie Bell of Duncan Lewis solicitors, who has represented many Afghans, told me: 'Not only did the government's Afghan schemes not help who they were supposed to help, but administrative incompetence appears to have potentially put thousands at risk from the Taliban. This is a further betrayal of so many who were integral to western efforts in Afghanistan who have already been forced to wait years for a lawful relocation decision.' Today's disclosures are an as-yet unquantifiable failure to Afghans who assisted us. But it is not the only failure. They will continue to try to reach the UK by irregular means because we have failed to protect them. While it is welcome that 24,000 people have been brought here, or are due to come here, many more are still living in danger. There is no sign of that changing any time soon. Diane Taylor writes on human rights, racism and civil liberties Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Indian Express
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
UK secretly relocated thousands of Afghans after data leak, documents reveal
Britain quietly launched a relocation scheme for thousands of Afghans after a Ministry of Defence (MoD) data breach exposed their personal details, newly released court documents and official reports show, as reported by Reuters. The breach occurred in February 2022, when a defence official mistakenly sent a file containing personal information on nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap). The file, which had over 33,000 rows of data, included names, contact details, and information on applicants' family members. The MoD did not detect the breach until August 2023, when part of the data was published on Facebook. In April 2024, the government created a confidential scheme called the Afghanistan Response Route. Defence Secretary John Healey told Reuters that 'around 4,500 affected people are in Britain or in transit' and that the scheme had cost about £400 million so far. Court documents reveal that up to 20,000 people may need relocation, pushing the total cost into the billions once legal expenses and compensation are included. The government kept the operation secret under a superinjunction — a court order which banned any mention of the case. MoD lawyers told the court there was a 'very real risk that people who would otherwise live will die' if the Taliban became aware of the leak, as reported by The Independent. A government-commissioned review, led by retired civil servant Paul Rimmer, found that while Afghanistan remains dangerous, the Taliban are likely to already possess similar information. 'It is unlikely the dataset would be the single, or definitive, piece of information enabling or prompting the Taliban to act,' the review stated. It also said the secrecy and creation of a bespoke scheme may have 'inadvertently added more value to the dataset.' The superinjunction, one of the longest of its kind, was lifted on 4 July 2025 after the MoD agreed it was no longer necessary. As of May 2025, about 16,000 people affected by the breach had been relocated to the UK. This includes many who were ineligible under the original Arap scheme but were assessed as being at risk. In total, around 36,000 people have been relocated under Arap and related schemes since 2021. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose government took office in July, told Reuters, 'This should never have happened. We owe a duty of care to those who helped British forces, and this breach has put lives at risk. Our priority now is to bring them to safety and ensure full accountability.' The government is also preparing for hundreds of legal claims. A planned compensation scheme is expected to cost between £120 million and £350 million, excluding administrative costs. While earlier documents suggested the Afghanistan Response Route could help up to 25,000 people over five more years at a projected cost of £7 billion a recent review said the scale of the scheme may be 'disproportionate' to the actual threat posed by the data exposure. The Arap scheme, launched in April 2021, closed to new applicants earlier this month following changes in immigration rules. (with inputs from Reuters and The Independent)
