UK Apologizes for Data Leak Impacting Afghans
(MENAFN) The United Kingdom has formally apologized to nearly 19,000 Afghan nationals whose private details were unintentionally disclosed in 2022.
The British government also disclosed the creation of a covert initiative aimed at safeguarding those potentially put in danger by the exposure.
Speaking before Parliament, Defense Secretary John Healey acknowledged that the Ministry of Defense (MoD) was responsible for erroneously distributing the names of over 18,000 individuals.
These people had submitted applications to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, also known as "ARAP," in February 2022.
The mishap took place when a government employee sent an email containing a full database of names, mistakenly assuming the message contained only "150 applicants."
Fearing reprisals from the Taliban against the individuals identified, the previous administration implemented a classified resettlement program known as the "Afghan Response Route" or "ARR."
Approximately 3,000 individuals were evaluated for potential resettlement through this initiative, which was shielded from public knowledge by a court-imposed "super-injunction."
This legal order prevented any media coverage of the situation for close to two years.
With the lifting of the court ban, the details surrounding the data exposure and the secret resettlement plan have now been officially disclosed to the public.
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