Afghan nationals relocated to UK

THOUSANDS of people are being relocated to the UK as part of a secret £850m scheme set up after a personal data leak of Afghans who supported British forces, it can now be reported.

- JESS GLASS

A dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) was released “in error” in February 2022 by a defence official.

The breach resulted in the creation of a secret Afghan relocation scheme the Afghanistan Response Route in April 2024.

The scheme is understood to have cost around £400m so far, with a projected cost once completed of around £850m.

Millions more is expected to be paid in legal costs and compensation.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) only became aware of the breach over a year after the release, when excerpts of the dataset were anonymously posted onto a Facebook group in August 2023.

Details on the dataset include the names and contact details of the Arap applicants and names of their family members.