THOUSANDS of Afghans have secretly been relocated to the UK after a huge £7 billion email blunder.
A Royal Marine had sent a secret email containing the details of Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban to the wrong people.
A leak, covered up by the MoD, cost Britain £7 billion after it was sent to the wrong peopleGetty Images
AlamyThe list contained the details of 20,000 Afghans whose country had been taken over by the Taliban[/caption]
The list also included names of their individual UK sponsors including SAS and MI6 spies and at least one Royal Marine Major General.
The clumsy click has potential to be the most expensive data breach in history.
A total of 18,714 Afghans were included on the secret list, many of whom arrived via unmarked planes which landed at Stansted airport.
Although Defence Secretary John Healey has said that the cost of relocating the Afghans and their families will total £400 million, the final cost could be even higher.
Defence Secretary Healey’s figure includes £100 million in compensation for the data breach and £300 million to relocate them to Britain.
However, government sources have estimated that the lifetime cost of supporting the 20,000 individuals and their families could hit £7 billion – if the rescued Afghans decide to sue the government for leaking their data.
Only around 10 to 15 per cent of the individuals on the list would have qualified for relocation under the emergency Afghan Relocation and Assistance Programme, known as ARAP, opened as Kabul fell to the Taliban.
But the leak means many more now have a valid claim for assistance and relocation.
Many of the Afghans who were flown into the country as part of Operation Rubific were initially housed at MoD homes or hotels until permanent accomodation was found.
The leak put countless of people left in Afghanistan at risk, as the country’s ruthless Taliban rulers tried to hunt and kill anyone who had helped UK forces.
A number of named individuals have been killed since the leak. Others were tortured and beaten.
But sources insisted it was impossible to prove conclusively whether it was a direct result of the data breach.
The epic MoD blunder was kept Top Secret for almost three years by a legal super injunction but can finally be made public today.
And the MoD only wrote to those affected to warn them today.
A source said: “The MoD kept this secret and denied these people the chance to change their numbers, emails, locations or take any measures to protect themselves.”
The Sun understands that a serving member of UK Special Forces, who was originally a Royal Marine, accidentally emailed the database to a group of applicants who were named on the list.
An MoD source said it was “human error and not a cyber hack or hostile state actor”.
One of the individuals later published the database online when his application was turned down.
Critics also accused the MoD of hiding the leak from the British public in a bid to conceal the potential costs.
Lawyer Adnan Malik, who represented around 1,000 victims, blasted the MoD for “careless handling of sensitive information” which he warned had put lives at risk.
Mr Malik, from the Manchester based law firm Barings Law, added: “This is an incredibly serious data breach, which the Ministry of Defence has repeatedly tried to hide from the British public.”
He added: “A total of around 20,000 individuals have been affected, putting them and their loved ones at serious risk of violence from opponents and armed groups.
“Through its careless handling of such sensitive information, the Ministry of Defence has put multiple lives at risk, damaged its own reputation, and put the success of future operations in jeopardy by eroding trust in its data security measures.”
He accused the MoD of using a High Court injunction to try and keep the breach a “national secret” in order to “hide the failings of the MoD”.
The list included Afghans who worked hand-in-glove with Britain’s special forces and intelligence services, as well as those who performed more menial tasks including such as cleaners on bases and embassies.
Mr Malik added: “Our claimants continue to live with the fear of reprisal against them and their families, when they should have been met with gratitude and discretion for their service.
“We would expect substantial financial payments for each claimant in any future legal action.
“While this will not fully undo the harm they have been exposed to, it will enable them to move forward and rebuild their lives.”
Defence Secretary John Healey has offered a “sincere apology” in the face of the huge error and added that “no government wishes to withhold information from the British public”.
He later said: “The full number of Afghan arrivals under all schemes have been reported in the regular Home Office statistics, meaning that they are already counted in the existing migration figures.”
He confirmed that the leaks contained the names and contact details of 18,714 applicants, as well as information about their family members and MPs who had supported them.
It also included the names of military officers and Government officials who had supported refugees.
James Cartlidge, the Shadow Defence Secretary, has confirmed that the Tories are backing Labour’s decision to close the Afghanistan Response Route after the findings of the Rimmer Review.
He said: “Any threat picture is constantly evolving and, as I say, I support the Secretary of State’s decision to review the MoD’s understanding of the threat.
“And, given the latest situation as reported by Rimmer, we support his conclusion that the Afghanistan Response Route, the ARR, can now be closed.”
GettyThe leaked list also included the names of UK sponsors and MI6 spies who could have become targets of the Taliban in Afghanistan[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
