After Afghans, over 100 British spies exposed due to 'mistakenly shared' details

A data leak that led to thousands of Afghans being resettled in the United Kingdom after assisting Western forces against the Taliban also exposed the identities of British spies and special forces personnel, news outlets reported on Thursday (July 17).

British media said the names of more than 100 individuals, including special forces troops, MI6 intelligence officers, and senior military officials, were among the details mistakenly shared.

A person familiar with the matter confirmed to The Associated Press that “a small number of special forces personnel” names were leaked.

The leak came to light after a High Court judge in London lifted a rare and sweeping injunction on Tuesday that had previously barred any reporting on an email inadvertently sent by a Ministry of Defence official in February 2022. The email contained personal data of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to resettle in the UK under a scheme for those at risk of Taliban retaliation.

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These Afghans, many of whom had worked as interpreters, fixers, or served in the Afghan National Army, applied under a relocation programme due to fears they would face persecution.

The British government only became aware of the leak 18 months later, when some of the data appeared on Facebook posted by an individual who threatened to release the full list. A classified effort to urgently relocate affected Afghans to the UK was launched in response.

When High Court Judge Martin Chamberlain lifted the “super injunction”– which had even prohibited reporting on its own existence– he permitted reporting on the Afghan applicants. However, his initial ruling barred the publication of information indicating that British military and intelligence figures were also on the list.

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News organisations sought to amend that restriction after The Sun tabloid, which was not a party to the legal proceedings and therefore not subject to the injunction, published details that British identities had also been exposed.

The blunder has become a political scandal, largely because of the government’s efforts to suppress information while quietly relocating thousands of people.

On Tuesday (July 15), Defence Secretary John Healey apologised in Parliament on behalf of the government. He confirmed that “a small number of names of people who supported the applications, including members of Parliament, senior military officers and government officials,” were on the list.

So far, about 4,500 Afghans (900 applicants and 3,600 of their family members) have been relocated under the scheme. The total is expected to reach nearly 6,900 before the programme concludes, at a cost of approximately £850 million ($1.1 billion).

Officials said they would close the programme following an independent review, which concluded that the leak likely did not increase the Taliban’s awareness of those who had cooperated with Western forces. The review noted that the Taliban had alternative means of identifying such individuals.

Nonetheless, critics said the breach endangered the lives of thousands of Afghans who had supported British operations.

Sean Humber, a lawyer who has represented affected Afghan clients, described the breach as “catastrophic” and said it had caused “anxiety, fear and distress” to those involved.

British troops were first deployed to Afghanistan in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. At their peak, nearly 10,000 UK service members were stationed in the country, primarily in Helmand province.

Britain ended combat operations in 2014, and its last forces withdrew in 2021 amid the Taliban’s rapid return to power. The militant group’s takeover prompted a chaotic international evacuation of foreign nationals and Afghan allies.

With inputs from AP