A huge Ministry of Defence data breach put the lives of up to 100,000 Afghans at risk and prompted thousands of them to be evacuated to Britain under a covert £7bn scheme – then was kept secret for almost two years by an unprecedented superinjunction, it can be revealed today.
The leak, in February 2022, exposed the details of thousands of Afghans who said they were in danger from the Taliban because of their links to UK forces and now wanted to escape to Britain.