UK Resettles Thousands of Afghans Post Data Leak Fears

London, Jul 15 (AP) Thousands of Afghans, many of whom collaborated with British forces, have been quietly resettled in the United Kingdom following a data leak that exposed their identities, heightening fears they could become targets of the Taliban, the British government disclosed on Tuesday.

The government now intends to conclude this covert relocation route.

Defence Secretary John Healey explained that a dataset, revealing personal information of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had sought relocation to Britain after the Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan, was inadvertently released in 2022 and parts of it were later posted online.

This leak prompted the then-Conservative government to initiate a clandestine programme to resettle these Afghans. A super injunction was procured, prohibiting any disclosure of the programme's existence.

The injunction was rescinded on Tuesday alongside the current Labour Party government's decision to make the programme public. An independent review suggested there was scant evidence that the data leak increased the risk of Taliban retribution for the Afghans involved.

"I have been profoundly troubled by the absence of transparency towards Parliament and the public," Healey told lawmakers in the House of Commons.

Approximately 4,500 individuals, consisting of 900 applicants and around 3,600 family members, have been relocated to Britain through this secretive initiative. By the time the programme concludes, about 6,900 people are expected to have been resettled, with the total incurred cost estimated at 850 million pounds ($1.1 billion).

An additional 36,000 Afghans have been relocated to the UK under alternate resettlement programmes.

British military forces were deployed to Afghanistan as part of efforts against al-Qaida and Taliban insurgents following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. At the height of combat operations, there were nearly 10,000 British troops stationed in the region, predominantly in Helmand province. The UK concluded its combat mission in 2014. (AP) SCY SCY

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