Words by ITV News Producer Luke Cullen
“I strongly believe that the leak has made it significantly easier for them to identify and locate us.”
These are the words of an Afghan who worked for the UK in the country before the Taliban swept back to power in August 2021.
Following the chaotic evacuations from Kabul in the same month, many Afghans who had worked for the UK government were left behind.
The government set up the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) to try and evacuate those deemed at serious risk from the Taliban due to their association with the UK.
However, a dataset that contained the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied to Arap was released “in error” in February 2022 by a defence official.
The Ministry of Defence only became aware of the breach after excerpts of the dataset were posted anonymously on a Facebook group in August 2023.
A superinjunction was then granted at the High Court in an attempt to prevent the Taliban from finding out about the leak.
The super-injunction was lifted on Tuesday, following a review, and the people involved were contacted by email, warning them of the potential danger.
ITV News has been speaking to people, both inside Afghanistan and in the UK, about the “life or death” risk this has caused them, their relatives and friends.
A message from Afghanistan
Part of a voicenote sent to ITV News from inside Afghanistan.
ITV News has been in contact with an individual who is still inside Afghanistan, on the run from the Taliban.
For security reasons, we are unable to say exactly what their role was, but they worked for the UK in Afghanistan.
They told us, via voicenote, that despite the precautions they have taken since 2021, this leak may have put them in direct danger.
They said: “Yesterday I received an email that our data was leaked in 2022, mistakenly.
“We have been extremely cautious about our safety over the past four years. Despite our efforts, my family and I have received multiple threats through social media and direct calls,” they explained.
They added: “I cannot confirm certainly that the Taliban used the data leaked from the UK side, but I strongly believe that the leak has made it significantly easier for them to identify and locate us.”
“Despite receiving approval from the UK for relocation, the process is moving slowly and we are still under threat,” they finished as the voicenote crackled and went silent.
Siblings disunited
Tamanna has now safely relocated to the north of England.
But her brother is now in graver danger in Afghanistan.
He worked in the country as a military officer alongside the UK government.
Tamanna says they are in constant contact because of the serious nature of the danger now posed to him because of the data leak.
She said: “We’re talking about these things a little bit every minute or every second because it’s a serious thing.”
She described that he was feeling “frustrated and anxious”.
“It was really a shock for him because he already had his concerns and tensions about the safety and security of my family and threats he is facing for the last four years”, she said.
Tamanna said her brother had already requested support and help to remain safe, but delays in the system and now this data leak have left her feeling even more concerned.
“I am here, I cannot do anything and they are in a bad situation.”
She bemoaned the lack of government help, saying: “I don’t know from which source I should get help? I should talk with who? And how can I get support?”
Questions for the government
ITV News also spoke to Khadija – not her real name – who was working with the UK government in Afghanistan before being evacuated under the Arap scheme.
“This issue is the most awful time in my life,” she said.
She explained that because of the leak “right now, me, my husband, my children, my mom, my sisters, my brother, they are all in direct danger because everyone has their data”.
She still has a large number of family members in Afghanistan, including parents-in-law, aunts, uncles and cousins, who were all implicated in the data leak.
The two cousins are still teenagers and moving about rural areas to stay safe. They can’t stay with family for fear of being identified.
The personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) was released “in error” in 2022, ITV News’ Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen reports
Khadija said she didn’t dare tell them about the data leak in case it put them in more trouble.
“The only thing I mentioned to them was please, please change your phone number if you can. Change your house again and don’t go out alone.”
Khadija also says she regrets trusting the UK government.
“Right now, every day, I mean every minute from yesterday to right now, I regret and just blame myself for trusting the government.”
She concluded: “If you have a law, you need to follow the law. If the law says that there is a data breach, you need to inform the person. Why didn’t you inform everyone at the beginning?”
These are questions that will continue to be asked of politicians in Westminster.
Talk of a public inquiry has begun, but that will bring little comfort to those in Afghanistan living at the mercy of the Taliban.
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