The first on-the-ground research into 350 affected people in Afghanistan, the UK or elsewhere has found that, of the 231 respondents who received notification from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) that their data had been leaked, 49 responded that either a colleague or a family member had been killed as a result of the data breach.
The research, submitted to the Commons defence select committee inquiry into the data breach, found that, of those surveyed, 200 of the 231 notified (87%) reported threats made to themselves or members of their families, while 99 (43%) reported a direct threat made to their life as a result of the data breach. A total of 121 (52%) said that family or friends in Afghanistan had been threatened by the Taliban.
Olivia Clark, the executive director of Refugee Legal Support, which conducted the research in partnership with academics from Lancaster and York Universities, said: “This research lays bare the devastating human consequences of the MoD data breach. By centring Afghan voices and documenting their experiences, it fills a critical gap in understanding the real-world impact of the breach.
“Afghans who served alongside UK forces have faced renewed threats, violent assaults, and even the killing of family members after their personal details were exposed.
“The UK government must act urgently to ensure their safety, accelerate relocation applications, and provide proper redress for those whose lives have been put at risk.”
Details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan were leaked mistakenly in February 2022 by a British official. The previous government found out about this in August 2023 when details were posted on Facebook.
A superinjunction blocking reporting about the breach was subsequently imposed preventing details being reported until July of this year, when it was lifted.
The Daily Telegraph reported in July that more than 200 former Afghan soldiers and police officers were killed in the wake of the data breach. However, it is not known how many of them had their names included on the data leak list.
However, an MoD spokesperson referred to a previous review, arguing “it is highly unlikely that merely being on a spreadsheet would be grounds for an individual to be targeted”.
A former Afghan National Army member in Afghanistan, who took part in the research, said: “The delay between the discovery of the data breach in 2023 and the communication in July 2025 is deeply concerning and unacceptable. Waiting almost two years to inform individuals that their personal data was compromised has put many lives at risk unnecessarily.
“Immediate notification could have allowed us to take protective measures much earlier. This delay shows a serious lack of urgency and responsibility from the Ministry of Defence, especially considering the sensitive nature of our backgrounds and the high-risk environment we live in.”
In other evidence to the defence committee’s inquiry, a man referred to as Person A, who describes himself as an independent volunteer caseworker working with Afghans at risk, said he was alerted to the data breach on 13 August 2023 and flagged it to the MoD but did not receive a reply until 21 August 2023 when he tagged a defence minister in a social media post.
He said he believed UK government officials had prioritised the wrong people for evacuation after the leak. He cited evacuation of farmers, barbers and gardeners before some members of the UK special forces who were likely to be at higher risk from the Taliban.
One British Afghan who submitted evidence described the MoD’s failure to protect sensitive information as “a reckless breach and betrayal of trust” while others said highly qualified Afghans who had been brought to the UK were working in jobs they were overqualified for, such as delivery driving.
A resettlement scheme for those affected by the breach, the Afghanistan Response Route, set up in April 2024 after Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government learned of the breach, has enabled 4,500 Afghans so far to arrive in the UK.
An MoD spokesperson said: “The independent Rimmer review, conducted based on existing assessments, expertise and reflections from current Afghanistan work, focused on those most able to provide a high level of insight into the current situation as of spring 2025, and concluded that it is highly unlikely that merely being on the spreadsheet would be grounds for an individual to be targeted.”
Afghanistan Peace Campaign