UK Ministry of Defence Expedites Afghan Resettlement After Data Breach Scandal

By One Nation Voice Staff

Updated: July 17, 2025

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has come under scrutiny following the expedited resettlement of an Afghan national who posted sensitive details from a major data breach on Facebook. The breach involved the personal information of thousands of Afghans seeking relocation to the UK after the Taliban’s return to power.

In February 2022, UK Special Forces (UKSF) accidentally leaked the details of nearly 19,000 Afghan applicants through an email sent from their headquarters. One individual, whose resettlement application had been rejected, published nine names from the dataset on Facebook and threatened to release further details. He also indicated that the data could be passed on to the Taliban.

Authorities traced the Afghan individual and strongly urged him to take down the posts. In return, the MoD offered to fast-track his resettlement application, ultimately overturning the rejection. The man is now reported to be in the UK, though no criminal charges have been filed in connection with his actions.

Critics, including former veterans minister Johnny Mercer, have raised concerns over the chaotic handling of the Afghan resettlement process. Mercer stated that the individual effectively “blackmailed” the MoD into accepting him by leveraging the leaked data. The breach, he argued, highlighted the broader mismanagement of the relocation effort, which had seen multiple leaks of sensitive information.

The data breach, which had remained under wraps due to a super-injunction, was revealed this week. It exposed the details of applicants seeking to join the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) – a scheme designed to protect Afghans who assisted British forces during the conflict. The breach exposed individuals to heightened risk of persecution or execution by the Taliban.

The UK government had established a secret £850 million emergency resettlement scheme, later called the Afghanistan Response Route, in April 2024. The scheme has brought around 4,500 Afghan nationals to the UK, with another 2,400 expected. However, the MoD’s failure to secure sensitive data has raised serious concerns about the safety of those affected by the leak.

The breach occurred after a UKSF official inadvertently emailed the dataset to an Afghan national living in the UK. This led to the spread of the data to various parties, including those in Afghanistan, putting the lives of applicants at risk.

Defense Secretary John Healey acknowledged the severity of the breach, offering a formal apology to those affected. However, questions remain about whether the individuals whose information was leaked faced any consequences, particularly in terms of Taliban retaliation.

Legal experts have condemned the incident as a “catastrophic failure” of government protocols, with the leaked data now potentially jeopardizing the safety of vulnerable Afghans.