Spies and special forces among more than 100 Britons whose details were included in Afghan data leak

Details of spies and special forces were included in a massive data leak that led to thousands of Afghans being secretly relocated to the UK.

Information about more than 100 Britons was contained in the breach.

Defence sources have said that details of MI6 spies, SAS and special forces personnel were included in the spreadsheet, after they had backed Afghans who had applied to be brought to the UK.

It comes after the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap), was released “in error” in February 2022 by a defence official.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) became aware of the breach in August 2023, when excerpts from a spreadsheet containing personal information were anonymously posted on a Facebook group.

Read more:
Afghan data breach timeline: The fallout behind the scenes
Why the Afghan data breach scandal has erupted now

After a super-injunction – imposed in September 2023 that blocked coverage of the leak – was lifted on Tuesday, Defence Secretary John Healey offered a “sincere apology” on behalf of the government.

“This was a serious departmental error,” he added.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge also apologised on behalf of the former Conservative government, which launched a secret scheme to relocate Afghan nationals impacted by the breach.

Some 6,900 Afghans – comprising 1,500 people named on the list as well as their dependents – are being relocated to the UK as part of this programme, atop the thousands moved under the Arap.

The MoD said the relocation costs alone, directly linked to the data breach, will be around £850m.

Between 80,000 and 100,000 people were affected. Judges said in June last year that they could be at risk of harassment, torture or death if the Taliban obtained their information.

Read more from Sky News:
The huge financial blow of Musk’s row with Trump
Thunderstorm warning issued – but temperatures to remain high

The super-injunction was lifted on Tuesday after an internal review concluded it “appears unlikely that merely being on the dataset would be grounds for targeting”.

However, an Afghan interpreter who worked with the British military told Sky News he feels “betrayed by the British government” and is afraid the Taliban will target him and his family.

The law firm Barings Law said on Tuesday it is working around 1,000 of those impacted “to pursue potential legal action”.

It comes as Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) requested that a number of documents used in the super-injunction proceedings be provided to it “immediately”.