A spreadsheet containing the personal information of about 18,700 Afghans and their relatives – a total of about 33,000 people – was accidentally forwarded to the wrong recipients by email in February 2022, Healey told lawmakers in the House of Commons.

The Taliban government said on Thursday it had not arrested or monitored Afghans involved in a secret British resettlement plan after a data breach was revealed this week. Thousands of Afghans who worked with the United Kingdom were brought to Britain with their families in a secret programme after a 2022 data breach put their lives at risk,

Manchester-based law firm Brings Legal stated it has already registered nearly 1,000 Afghan ARAP applicants for potential legal proceedings. These individuals were part of a UK government initiative to resettle Afghans who had worked alongside British forces and were at risk after the Taliban’s return to power.

Thousands of Afghan nationals have been secretly relocated to the United Kingdom after a major data breach in 2022 compromised their identities. The resettlement scheme was kept secret under a super-injunction which stopped it from being made public.