Fears of riots after secret Afghan resettlement scheme exposed following MoD data breach
by Frankie Elliott · LBCBy Frankie Elliott
Riots are feared to break out across Britain after it emerged that the government prevented the public from learning about an Afghan resettlement scheme set up following a catastrophic Ministry of Defence data breach.
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An unprecedented superinjunction was used by the government to suppress information about the breach, which exposed the personal details of thousands of Afghans who had worked with UK forces.
The breach, which happened under the previous Conservative government, involved the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - a scheme designed to offer sanctuary in the UK to Afghans who supported British military operations during the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Between 80,000 and 100,000 people, including family members of the ARAP applicants, were affected by the breach and could be at risk of harassment, torture or death if the Taliban obtained their data, judges said in June 2024.
So far, around 4,500 people – made up of 900 ARAP applicants and approximately 3,600 family members - have been brought to the UK or are currently in transit through the Afghanistan Response Route.
A further estimated 600 people and their relatives are expected to be relocated before the scheme closes, bringing the total to around 6,900 individuals by the end of the programme.
Read more: Nobody has been fired over £7 billion Afghan data breach, LBC understands
The Ministry of Defence says that the cost of the 6,900 who have been brought over because of the data breach will be £800m.
However, court documents suggest the total cost of Afghan relocations could reach £7 billion - most of which has not been scrutinised by Parliament.
Following the lifting of the super-injunction on Tuesday, which had blocked news outlets from reporting the story, all government departments have been warned about a possible violent public reaction.
Nobody has been fired over £7 billion Afghan data breach, LBC understands
A Whitehall briefing note circulated on July 4, seen by the Telegraph, warned the Ministry of Defence would need to “work with colleagues across Government ... to mitigate any risk of public disorder following the discharge of the injunction”.
During private hearings, MoD officials admitted delays were caused by “a lack of ministerial decisions”.
Evidence presented to the court suggested political considerations - such as pressure to reduce asylum hotel use - may have influenced who would receive help.
The superinjunction was finally lifted on Tuesday following a ruling by Mr Justice Chamberlain, who had earlier warned the secrecy had effectively put British democracy “into cold storage”.
Earlier this month, documents revealed that the Home Office had warned other government departments that “such a risk [of riots] is higher during the summer period”.
Ministers are seeking to avoid a repeat of last summer's violent anti-immigration protests, which lasted for six days.
The disorder was encouraged by far-right groups following the murders of three girls at a dance class in Southport.
The riots resulted in more than 1,200 arrests and hundreds of convictions, prompting Sir Keir Starmer to create a new violent disorder unit to tackle what he called the "actions of a a tiny, mindless minority in our society”.
Read more: How the UK silenced a scandal: My two year battle to reveal the truth by Lewis Goodall
John Healey offers 'sincere apology' from Government for personal data leak of Afghans
The riot hotspots were largely in places where there had been a high number of Afghan arrivals, according to a Cabinet briefing paper circulated two months after the unrest.
One official wrote: "The recent far-Right disorder targeting asylum seekers and Muslim communities was the worst outbreak of racial violence in the UK for decades.
"We know that 15 out of the 20 primary disorder hotspots are in the top 20 per cent of local authorities with the highest numbers of supported asylum seekers and Afghan resettlement arrivals."
Downing Street is understood to be currently monitoring the prospect of further riots, though no formal directive has yet been issued for police to prepare for riots.
The government has now quietly shut down the ARAP scheme to new applicants.
Speaking in the Commons, Defence Secretary John Healey said the information leak "led to the High Court granting an unprecedented super injunction and the previous government establishing a secret Afghan resettlement route."
He went on to announce a change to government policy and a closure of the secret resettlement route.
"It is unprecedented, and to be clear, the court has always recognised the parliamentary privilege of proceedings in this House, and ministers decided not to tell parliamentarians at an earlier stage about the data incident as the widespread publicity would increase the risk of the Taliban obtaining the data set, Mr Healey said.
Adding "as parliamentarians and as government ministers, it has been deeply uncomfortable to be constrained from reporting to this House and I'm grateful today to be able to disclose the details to Parliament."