As is well known, the British civil service has very many employees, and a significant proportion of them are also members of the Civil Service Sports & Social Club. These active, outgoing types are well used to receiving correspondence about forthcoming events, matches, and the governance of their club. But at some point in August 2023, an email was sent out to them containing officially sensitive data about a number of Afghan nationals seeking sanctuary in the UK after the fall of the Kabul government two years earlier, when the Allied attempt to hold back the Taliban finally collapsed.
Unfortunately, as The Independent reveals, it is far from the only egregious breach of confidentiality that has potentially put lives at risk in a tragicomic manner. Another unintended leak came from an official leaving open their laptop on a train. There have also been examples of WhatsApp being used to share personal data insecurely, and of flight manifests being revealed that include the details of Afghans arriving in the UK. All are serious matters, and some may have put lives at risk.
