UK data leak on Afghan allies leads to secret relocation of thousands
Information on Afghans who worked with British forces was leaked, leading to thousands being secretly relocated to the UK. The leaked data also included more than 100 British nationals, including intelligence officers and special forces members. The UK Government continued legal efforts to prevent the incident from being made public, and issues followed over compensation for some victims and the exclusion of others from compensation.
Key facts
- Affected organisation
- UK Government
- Incident type
- Data breach
- Occurred / detected
- Not confirmed
- Scale of damage
- Leak of information on Afghan allies and more than 100 British nationals; thousands of Afghans relocated
- Cause / method
- Not confirmed
- Location
- United Kingdom
If your data was exposed
- Don’t tap links in texts, calls or emails that mention this incident and offer compensation, refunds or breach checks. Check directly on the organisation’s official website or app.
Timeline
- A compensation offer for Afghans affected by the data leak was reported.
- It was made public that thousands of Afghans had been secretly relocated to the UK following the data leak.
- It emerged that the leaked data included more than 100 British nationals, including intelligence officers and special forces members.
- It was reported that thousands of Afghan victims would not receive compensation.
- It came to light that scam emails offering large compensation payments had been sent to victims of the data leak.
- It emerged that the UK Government had spent £2.4 million to prevent the data leak from being made public.
Also affected by this incident
Afghan data leak exposes identities of MI6 officers
↳ Knock-on damage from the UK Government incident · View original incidentImpact: Identity information of MI6 officers
On 17 July 2025, it emerged that an Afghanistan-related data leak had exposed the identities of officers of the UK's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). The leaked data included more than 100 Britons, among them intelligence officers and SAS special forces personnel.
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The summary and key facts are written by AI from related reports and may contain errors. Check the original articles and the organisation’s official statements for accurate details.