VILLAGERS living close to a refugee camp talked today (WEDS) of their fears they could be caught up in a bloody revenge attack by the Taliban.
Almost 20,000 Afghans have secretly been brought into Britain from their native country after a major security blunder disclosed their identities to the brutal terror organisation in Afghanistan.
PAUK military personnel departing Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2021[/caption]
PADefence Secretary John Healey making a statement to MPs in the House of Commons following the news that thousands of people are being relocated to the UK[/caption]
GettyThousands of the refugees had to be secretly relocated to the UK after the blunder, which was covered up by the Ministry of Defence[/caption]
The former RAF camp in the south of England – the exact location of which we are not revealing – is already home to more than 500 immigrants looked after by security teams.
Many of those living at the site worked alongside British soldiers in Afghanistan.
It comes as the Taliban has chillingly warned it will hunt down thousands of Afghan refugees on a ‘kill list’ after the UK’s huge data breach.
Refugees at the site regularly visit the closest village – with a population of just 800 – and take the bus to go shopping in nearby towns.
But there are now growing concerns that the ex-security base is being used to house some of the Afghans hurriedly brought to the UK will become a target of the vengeful Taliban.
Thousands of the refugees had to be secretly relocated to the UK after the blunder, which was covered up by the Ministry of Defence and is set to cost Britain up to £7 billion.
The majority of those on the secret list were flown into Stansted airport via unmarked planes as part of a £850m scheme.
It means that the clumsy click and the subsequent cover-up – which has now proven to be ineffective – has potential to be the most expensive data breach in history.
One local in the village, who lives just yards from the centre’s 12-foot fence, said: “This country just cannot afford to keep taking in more immigrants.
“The number at this centre started at a couple of hundred but there are more than 500 now – and apparently there are said to be plans for it to hold more than a thousand.
“And if they put some of those who fled after they were exposed it will make it a revenge target for the Taliban so we would need to know that security is tightened up all round.
“We need to know that security there is up to the job – any attack on it would involve us and our safety. If there was a riot we need to know that security there would be able to cope – and protect the site from intruders or anyone wishing to cause harm.”
Another resident, who lives in a centuries-old farmhouse just 500 metres from the camp, said: “We are told there are about 800 there at the moment and it takes up all the security staff’s time – but I don’t know what they would do and if they would be able to cope if the camp was targeted by revenge-seeking Taliban killers.”
Another local said: “A lot of people are now very scared after learning that the Taliban might want revenge and come after the Afghans who living at the camp.
“We just hope the authorities step up security for all our sakes.
“This is very small peaceful village – and there have been few problems with the refugees – but if Taliban decide to go after those who helped the British and are now here, there is no telling what they may do by way of revenge.”
The list also included names of their individual UK sponsors including SAS and MI6 spies and at least one Royal Marine Major General.
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.
Mr Healey 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.”
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.
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 was finally made public this week.
EPAPM Keir Starmer said the Tories have questions to answer following the cover up[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
