The government data breach of about 18,900 Afghans who had worked for Britain and British interests, and the attempts to conceal much of the detail under a legal superinjunction, are bewildering, convoluted and shameful. In all, the lives of some 80,000 Afghans and their families may have been put at risk.
They had worked as drivers, guards, and health and aid workers, as well as interpreters and education assistants for British troops, overseas aid and NGO missions and the British Council. They were vulnerable to vengeance from Taliban fighters, and their sometime allies and foes from ISIS – that is to say, affiliated groups. To this day, it is not known how many have been killed, kidnapped and tortured.
