Betrayal after betrayal: Afghan special forces abandoned by Britain had details leaked in MoD data breach
Special forces soldiers hit by data leak left in dark over Taliban threat
- A major data breach in February 2022 saw a Ministry of Defence official mistakenly share personal details of 18,700 Afghans, including elite Triples special forces soldiers who fought alongside British troops.
- The leak put these Afghan soldiers at severe risk from the Taliban and was concealed by a two-year superinjunction, meaning affected individuals were not informed of the danger.
- The High Court recently ruled that defective decision-making led to hundreds of Afghan special forces, who served with the British, being wrongly denied sanctuary and abandoned to the Taliban.
- While hundreds of Triples members and their families have been relocated to the UK, many remain in Afghanistan, facing ongoing risks, prompting calls for the government to clarify the numbers still awaiting relocation.
- The Ministry of Defence is now reviewing thousands of applications, acknowledging previous "not robust" decision-making, and has identified thousands more cases for re-examination, stating the Triples review is a priority.