00:00It was a simple email mistake, but one that put almost 19,000 people at risk of harm from the Taliban.
00:07A spreadsheet containing the details of citizens who'd applied to move to the United Kingdom
00:12following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan
00:15was sent, quote, outside of authorised government systems in 2022.
00:22This official mistakenly believed that they were sending the names of 150 applicants.
00:30However, the spreadsheet in fact contained personal information associated to 18,714 Afghans
00:39who had applied either to the Exgracia or the Arat scheme.
00:44This was a serious departmental error.
00:48The government at the time only became aware of the leak
00:51when some of the data appeared on Facebook the following year.
00:55Those concerned by the breach, which includes soldiers
00:58who fought alongside the British forces in Afghanistan, were only informed this Tuesday.
01:04The mistake led authorities to set up an emergency scheme
01:08to move those involved to the United Kingdom,
01:11fearing that they may be targeted by the regime in the country.
01:15The data breach has only just been revealed after a high court ordered what's known as a super injunction,
01:22which prevented anybody from revealing its existence, to be lifted.
01:25Many might find the government's current position somewhat surprising.
01:29They initially rushed to court to obtain an injunction, then a super injunction,
01:34to prevent the disclosure of this information by the media,
01:38precisely because of the risk that it posed to those affected.
01:41Now, somewhat curiously, some may consider, they're saying, well, there isn't a risk.
01:46Well, there are many credible media reports of those that have been persecuted by the Taliban in Afghanistan
01:52because of the help they provided to international forces, including UK, Australian and US forces.
02:00To date, 4,500 people have been secretly relocated to the UK at a cost of a reported £2 billion.
02:08A further 600 people, together with their families, are expected to have their applications honoured.
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