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

Details of spies and peculiar forces were included successful a monolithic information leak that led to thousands of Afghans being secretly relocated to the UK.

Information astir much than 100 Britons was contained successful the breach.

Defence sources person said that details of MI6 spies, SAS and peculiar forces unit were included successful the spreadsheet, aft they had backed Afghans who had applied to beryllium brought to the UK.

It comes aft the idiosyncratic accusation of astir 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap), was released "in error" successful February 2022 by a defence official.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) became alert of the breach successful August 2023, erstwhile excerpts from a spreadsheet containing idiosyncratic accusation were anonymously posted connected a Facebook group.

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After a super-injunction - imposed successful September 2023 that blocked sum of the leak - was lifted connected Tuesday, Defence Secretary John Healey offered a "sincere apology" connected behalf of the government.

"This was a superior departmental error," helium added.

Shadow defence caput James Cartlidge besides apologised connected behalf of the erstwhile Conservative government, which launched a concealed strategy to relocate Afghan nationals impacted by the breach.

Some 6,900 Afghans - comprising 1,500 radical named connected the database arsenic good arsenic their dependents - are being relocated to the UK arsenic portion of this programme, atop the thousands moved nether the Arap.

The MoD said the relocation costs alone, straight linked to the information breach, volition beryllium astir £850m.

Between 80,000 and 100,000 radical were affected. Judges said successful June past twelvemonth that they could beryllium astatine hazard of harassment, torture oregon decease if the Taliban obtained their information.

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The super-injunction was lifted connected Tuesday aft an interior reappraisal concluded it "appears improbable that simply being connected the dataset would beryllium grounds for targeting".

However, an Afghan interpreter who worked with the British subject told Sky News helium feels "betrayed by the British government" and is acrophobic the Taliban volition people him and his family.

The instrumentality steadfast Barings Law said connected Tuesday it is moving astir 1,000 of those impacted "to prosecute imaginable ineligible action".

It comes arsenic Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) requested that a fig of documents utilized successful the super-injunction proceedings beryllium provided to it "immediately".

A MoD spokesperson said: "It's longstanding argumentation of successive governments to not remark connected Special Forces.

"We instrumentality the information of our unit precise earnestly and personnel, peculiarly those successful delicate positions, ever person due measures successful spot to support their security."