Afghan Refugees Sue UK Ministry Of Defence Over Data Breach
About 1,000 Afghan refugees have taken the first formal step towards filing a lawsuit against the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) over the disclosure and mishandling of their personal data.
About 1,000 Afghan refugees have taken the first formal step towards filing a lawsuit against the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) over the disclosure and mishandling of their personal data.
The law firm Barings, which is representing the claimants, is seeking £50,000 in compensation for each client.
Robert Whitehead, the firm’s owner, said a letter before legal action has been sent to the MoD. He said the firm has evidence that some individuals whose data was exposed, or people connected to them, have been killed, while others have been extorted by the Taliban through threats against their relatives.
“It was the MoD’s responsibility to protect the data,” Whitehead said.
The legal action follows an unprecedented incident in which the Ministry of Defence accidentally disclosed the personal details of Afghans who had applied for relocation to Britain because they feared reprisals from the Taliban.
The database contained the personal information of about 25,000 Afghan applicants and their family members, as well as details of some British special forces personnel. In February 2022, a British soldier inadvertently released the data. The breach remained undetected until August 2023.
In response, the UK government established a confidential immigration scheme for those affected, known as the Afghan Response Route. Under the scheme, 7,355 people have arrived in the UK or are expected to do so. However, the route was closed to other victims of the breach in July.
Among Barings’ clients are highly vulnerable individuals, including former members of Afghan special forces who worked closely with the UK before the Taliban returned to power. Other claimants include former police officers and members of Afghanistan’s judicial system.
Adnan Malik, Barings’ data protection officer, said the firm has seen videos showing armed groups ransacking homes and searching for people who cooperated with Western forces. He said one client reported that his brother, a former Afghan police officer, was recently killed, which the firm believes was a direct result of the data breach.
In another case, Malik said a former senior Afghan army officer now living in the UK reported being forced to pay the Taliban to keep his son alive.
Criticising the MoD’s handling of the case, Malik said it was “very strange” that the ministry warned during several court hearings that lives were at risk, before later saying that lives were not at risk.
The Ministry of Defence has previously said that simply having a person’s name on the spreadsheet was highly unlikely to be sufficient reason for them to be targeted. The ministry has said it will “robustly defend against any legal action or compensation claims.”
