Britain has a long history of abandoning people who risk their lives to help us abroad

Britain likes to think of itself as a nation that honours loyalty. It salutes its soldiers, cherishes its veterans, and builds grand narratives around comradeship and duty. Yet, behind that national self-image lies a harsher truth: when it comes to those who have risked everything to help us in our wars abroad, we are alarmingly quick to forget them.

- GUY WALTERS

The recent revelation that the names and details of tens of thousands of Afghans who worked alongside British forces were leaked and left exposed - thanks to a staggering data breach - has laid bare not only a monumental failure of security but also a deeper, historical pattern of neglect.

These interpreters, drivers, fixers and logistical staff were essential to the British war effort in Afghanistan. They were not on the periphery; they were at the centre of operations, guiding soldiers through complex cultural terrain, translating intelligence, calming hostile situations, and often saving lives. Their reward? Having their identities posted online for the Taliban to find.

For nearly two years, the British government successfully suppressed the story with a super-injunction, while some of these people lived in fear, unsure whether their names were among those leaked, and with no clear way to find out. Since then, the Ministry of Defence has scrambled to relocate thousands of Afghans under Operation Rubific, at a cost of some £7bn. But thousands remain. Thousands are still at risk.

The Independent has been campaigning for the cause of the Afghan helpers for the past two years, during which time we showed that five in six Afghan applicants are rejected from the military scheme established to give sanctuary to those in danger from the Taliban.

Two years ago, the paper also revealed the desperate plight of an Afghan colonel, who fought alongside British troops and fled to Britain on a small boat, and yet was disgracefully threatened with deportation to Rwanda.

But this horrific leak is not an isolated failure. On the contrary, it echoes a recurrent pattern throughout British military history.