- The UK government has officially ended a secret £850 million relocation scheme for Afghans who supported British forces, following revelations about a massive data breach involving nearly 19,000 applicants under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). The scheme, kept under wraps since 2022, was only made public this week after a court lifted a government-imposed superinjunction.
The breach occurred in February 2022, when a Ministry of Defence (MoD) official mistakenly released a spreadsheet containing the names, contact details, and family information of over 18,700 Afghan nationals who applied to the UK under the ARAP or Ex Gratia schemes. The file was accidentally posted on a Facebook page, prompting the MoD to seek an emergency court order to block reporting on the incident.
By August 2023, the government secured a rare superinjunction, preventing any disclosure of the breach or the costly secret relocation efforts that followed. The High Court finally lifted this injunction on Tuesday, allowing public scrutiny of the events and expenditures.
Court Ruling Cites New Evidence Minimizing Taliban Threat
Judge Mr Justice Chamberlain ruled to lift the injunction after reviewing an independent report by retired civil servant Paul Rimmer. The report found that it was “unlikely” the Taliban could use the leaked dataset to significantly escalate risks for individuals listed, given the volume of data already available to the group. The judge noted that this new finding “fundamentally undermines the evidential basis” for maintaining secrecy.
Labour Government Halts Afghan Response Route to Save Billions
Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed that the Afghan Response Route (ARR)—a relocation programme launched in response to the breach—has now been shut down. The plan had already cost taxpayers £400 million and was expected to consume another £450 million. The decision to end it is estimated to save £1.2 billion in future government spending.
In a statement to Parliament, Healey offered a “sincere apology” for the leak and the lack of transparency. “This was a serious departmental error,” he said, explaining that the official responsible believed they were sharing data on just 150 applicants—not nearly 19,000.
Healey also revealed that the document included the names of MPs, senior military officers, and officials who had supported individual applications.
Thousands Relocated to UK Despite Closure
To date, 900 Afghan applicants under the ARR programme have arrived in Britain, along with approximately 3,600 family members. While new relocation offers are now suspended, the government has pledged to honour 600 previously issued invitations to eligible individuals and their immediate families still in Afghanistan.
The MoD has launched a dedicated portal on gov.uk for individuals affected by the breach, offering security advice, a self-check tool, and direct support services.
Since the fall of Kabul in August 2021, over 36,000 Afghans have been relocated to the UK under various humanitarian and assistance programmes. The ARAP scheme, which once promised refuge for those who helped British forces during the 20-year conflict, is now officially closed.
