Government will robustly defend any compensation claims from thousands of Afghans whose lives were put at risk by massive data breach Daily Mail Online

pBy LETTICE BROMOVSKY NEWS REPORTER pp Published 0613 EDT 19 July 2025 Updated 0632 EDT 19 July 2025 pppp 796ppView commentsppppThousands of Afghans included on a list of people trying to flee the Taliban are unlikely to receive compensation after their details were accidentally leakedppA spokesman for the Ministry of Defence MoD said the Government would robustly defend any legal action or bid for compensation adding these were hypothetical claimsppIt has also been reported that the MoD will not proactively offer compensation to those affectedppThe data breach which saw details of 18714 applicants for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Arap scheme released in 2022 prompted an unprecedented gagging order amid fears the Taliban could target wouldbe refugees for reprisalsppIt also saw the establishment of a secret scheme the Afghanistan Response Route ARR to bring some of those affected to the UKppBut the MoD spokesman pointed to an independent review which found there is now little danger that appearing on the leaked spreadsheet would be enough to result in being targeted by the TalibanppHundreds of data protection claims are expected to be lodged with the High Court hearing earlier this week that a Manchesterbased firm already had several hundred prospective clientsppA family prepares to get on to a coach to start a new life in the UK ppHundreds of migrants file off a taxpayerchartered jetppPrevious Afghan data breaches led to the MoD compensating people whose details were leakedppIt has also been reported that Afghan migrants have brought as many as 22 family members to the UK after relatives previously rejected for asylum were allowed in following the data breachppGovernment sources say Afghans who were flown to Britain brought an average of eight family members with them leaving officials scrambling to find accommodation for themppEarlier this month before the superinjunction preventing reporting of the 2022 leak was lifted armed forces minister Luke Pollard announced 16 million in compensation for a separate incident involving the release of Afghan nationals datappMr Pollard said the MoD had agreed to pay up to 4000 to each of the 265 people whose details were mistakenly copied into emails sent by the Government in September 2021ppThat breach also saw the Government fined 350000 by the Information Commissioners Office ICOppBut the ICO has said it will take no further action in relation to the larger 2022 breach with Information Commissioner John Edwards saying there was little we could add in this case given the high degree of public scrutiny the MoD was already facingppIn total the Government expects 6900 people to be brought to the UK under the ARR scheme with costs reaching 850 millionppAlong with the Afghan nationals the breach saw details of more than 100 British officials compromised including special forces and MI6 personnelppIt comes as the Mail revealed that Taliban warlords are on a vengeful killing spree against hundreds of Afghans after the Government lost the top secret databaseppOne man was shot by a gunman who stepped from an alley on Monday and fired four bullets at close range into his chest one of three assassinations in the past seven daysppA man who once translated for former Prime Minister Gordon Brown pictured told the Mail that news of the lost database had struck the fear of God into former interpreters like himppThe brother of the former interpreter above was beaten by the Taliban demanding to know where his brother was hiding and if he had worked for the UKppColonel Shafiq Ahmad Khan above was lured into a trap and shot twice in the heart on his doorstep in May 2022ppPanic has been spreading since Tuesday when Afghans were officially informed their personal details had been lost in the UKs worst ever data blunder putting 100000 at risk of deathppThousands received notifications from His Majestys Government saying sorry and adding We understand this news may be concerningppIt is not known if the Taliban actually has the database which includes names of Afghans who helped the UK as well as members of the British intelligence community it is understoodppBut one Afghan soldier who fled to Britain for fear of retribution believes his brother was gunned down in the street this week because the militant group was aware of his affiliation to the UKppHe said If or when the Taliban have this list then killings will increase and it will be Britains fault There will be many more executions like the one on MondayppThe Mail has seen a dossier of more than 300 murders that include those who worked with the UK and some who had applied for the UK scheme the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy ARAPpp
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