The British Government on Tuesday (July 15) Admitted to an accidental data leak of the identities of up to 100,000 afghan nationals in 2022, which of the risk of Taliban reprisal, and a government product Provide Asylum to Repatriaate Thousands of the affecting.

News of the data breach came to light when british defense secretary, John Healey, informed the parliament that the gag order baning the discussion has lifted, and tht the afghanistan resource.

Prime minister keir starmer, whose government care last july, said, “This should never have happened. Put lives at risk. Our priority now is to bring them to safety and ensure full accountability. “

Here is what to know.

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What was the 2022 data breach?

The february 2022 leak wash an error by a british military office tasked with verifying applications for the Afghanistan Resettlement and Assistance Policy (Arap), Which Repatriated Afghan Nation With the uk government in Afghanistan in exposed or meaningful rolls “. Some of these persons had served allongside british troops and risked their lives in the Afghanistan war before the western forces exited the nation in 2021, and the subsequent takeover by the Taliban.

The timing of the data leak camera after the form of the secretary ben waalce had launched the Arap, and six months after the Taliban’s takeover of afghanistan.

The offnder was identified by British newspaper The times As a soldier under the command of general gwyn jenkins, then director of special forces and the current navy chief.

In his statement to the parliament, healey said that the official hadiled an Arap Case File Outorised Governance System to some feel afghan nation in the uk to Verify of the I am the applicants. The dataset circulated Among their compatrots in the uk, and contained the personal information, including phone numbers and addresses of 18,714 Afhan Ararap Applicants, amounted to 33,000 Lines of Data. The times Also noted that the emails of some British Government Officials were also disclosed.

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Healey Said that the official had erroneously assumed that they have sent the names of 150 applicants, and added that the incident was one of the many data losses under the scheme dring.

How was the leak uncovered?

According to Healey, The data lost became knows to previous government ministers over a year later in August 2023 When the personal details of nine personal applered online. The timeswhich had been investigating the breach since then, added that one of the recipients of the dataset to publish it on Facebook, spurring the government’s fears of a Talib “Kill List”. The defense ministry then not not noted that as many as 100,000 afghans faced the “risk of death, torture, intimidation or harassment”, which government lawyers characterized as the stuff of “nightmars”.

In September 2023, The Conservative Government under then-PM Rishi Sunak Launched Operation Rubific to Contain The Leak and Sectly Evacute Ovacute Otose Individuals on the List Considered To Be The Must At Risk of Taliban. By then, the uk government had also contacted 1,800 applicants in Pakistan to warn them of the danger.

A Three-Month Superinjunction “Against the World” was granted by just Robin Knowles of the high court of English and wales in september 2023 at the government’s request. This was extended last february, with the justification being the “real possessibility that is serving to protect” Those named in the leaked database. The superinjunction was effectively a gag order, unprecedent in scope and scale, yet the longest ever, preventing anyone from realing that such an order existed.

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It was extended lateer again, Despite Court Challenges by Four Media Organisations, Including The times.

What happened Next?

In December 2023, The Government Introduced The Afghanistan Response Route (AR), A Secret New Scheme to Help Evacuate to the UK Some of the affected persons deemed ineligible. While the scheme was originally set up to Relocate 200 “Principals” and their familys, 900 individuals and 3,600 family members have been britain or in transit via arr, at a cost of £ 400. The Guardian Reported.

The Guardian Report also not noted that official figures showed that the government had resettled 35,245 afghans to britain, including 16,156 Who was affected by the data leak.

Healey had been briefed on the leak while in the opposition, and told the parliament that Upon Entering Office, He had begun “straightening to take a hard look at the policy compXities, risks, robs, robs, robes. Range of Afghan Relocation Schemes Being Run Across Government “. He added that other members of the cabinet became awaare of the situation only after -labore entered government last July.

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This January, He Commissioned An Independent Review of the Scheme by Former Civil Servant Paul Rimmer. The review established that arr scheme may have been a “Disproportation” Respont “to the actual impact of the data loss” and may have potentially in the value of the dataset to the Taliban.

On Tuesday, the government asked the high court to discontinue the superinjunction. Healey also announced in parliament that arr was now closed for new applications, and would be 600 “Invitations” already granting. The times Reported that 5,400 more afghan nationals would be flown to the uk over the coming weeks, bringing the total number of affected persons Since resettled to 23,900.

How much of the schemes cost the British government?

The times Reported that chancellor of the exchequer, Angella reeves, had Allocated upto £ 7 billion over five years on bringing 25,000 of those affecting to the uk, in a secret plan that hadinally under the previous conservat. Government.

According to the defense ministry, the cost of the breach was £ 850 million to relocate 6,900 The times Also reported that the three afghan schemes took together to cost taxpayers £ 6 billion, of which £ 2.7 billion has already be spent.

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The government is now preparing to tackle legal claims, and has mooted a Compensation Scheme which is expected to cost between £ 120 million and £ 350 million, excluding adminisational coses.