UK Ministry of Defence Apologizes for Leaking Data of Afghan Allies

*Kokcha News Agency – The UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed that over the past four years, there have been 49 separate incidents of data breaches involving the personal information of Afghan nationals who had applied for relocation as former collaborators with British forces. In each case, the names and details of dozens of individuals were leaked.

According to the BBC, seven of these breaches were deemed serious and reported to the data protection watchdog. Three other cases had not previously been made public.

In 2022, the personal data of nearly 19,000 Afghan allies who had applied for relocation after the Taliban’s takeover was leaked. Following this incident, the UK launched a confidential program to evacuate thousands of Afghans, with over 6,000 individuals relocated to the country.

The UK Defence Secretary has recently apologized for the leaks, which have put thousands of Afghans at risk of Taliban retaliation.

The Telegraph reported that some former Taliban fighters were also evacuated to the UK under humanitarian evacuation flights, including individuals with histories of sexual offenses, corruption, and imprisonment. Corrupt Afghan officials were allegedly responsible for these evacuations.

Experts have warned that these data breaches could endanger the lives of Afghan families. Lawyers representing affected Afghans have accused the UK Ministry of Defence of “gross negligence,” while the ministry claims it takes data security seriously and has implemented necessary reforms.

Previously, a former UK Defence Minister described the data leak as a “dreadful mistake.” The controversy has been ongoing in the UK for weeks, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer stating that former Conservative government ministers must “answer tough questions about the data breaches.”

Investigations by the Daily Telegraph reveal that since the data leak in February 2022, over 200 former Afghan soldiers and police officers have been identified and killed by the Taliban.