The UK government cannot determine the total cost of a secret relocation plan following an Afghan data breach, according to the public spending watchdog. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) estimates the data breach and the subsequent relocation scheme will cost £850 million. However, the National Audit Office (NAO) states the MoD lacks sufficient evidence to support this figure. Notably, this estimate excludes potential legal expenses and compensation claims.
The MoD emphasizes its commitment to transparency and its moral obligation to Afghans who assisted British forces.
Data Breach Details
In 2022, an official mistakenly emailed a spreadsheet containing hidden sensitive information, exposing the details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK to escape the Taliban. The data included names, contact details, and family information of individuals who cooperated with British forces during the Afghanistan war, putting them at risk of reprisals. Additionally, the breach included the names of British officials, including members of UK special forces.
Following the data breach, the government secretly established the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR) in April 2024. This new scheme allowed an additional 7,000 Afghans and their family members to resettle in the UK. A super-injunction granted by the High Court in September 2023 prevented reporting on the incident for nearly two years. However, the order lifted in July, revealed the full extent of the breach.
Transparency and Commitment
The MoD estimates the cost of resettling each individual at £128,000, with the total bill for all Afghan resettlement programs expected to exceed £2bn. However, the NAO report highlights the government’s failure to provide sufficient evidence to confirm the accuracy of the £850m figure. The MoD did not separately identify the costs of the ARR scheme in its accounting system, making these costs invisible in management accounts and included within total spending on Afghan resettlement activities.
A spokesperson for the MoD stated, “We are committed to honouring the moral obligation we owe to those Afghans who stood with us and risked their lives. The Government has fully funded the cost of all Afghan resettlement schemes, including the Afghan Response Route, as part of its Spending Review.”
