MoD could face 'strong claims for substantial compensation' following 'catastrophic' data breach
by Danielle Desouza · LBCBy Danielle Desouza
The Government could face "strong claims for substantial compensation" from those affected by a massive data breach of the personal information of Afghans who supported British forces, a lawyer has said.
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Sean Humber, a specialist data breach lawyer at law firm Leigh Day, who acts for Afghan citizens affected by previous data breaches of their personal data by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), labelled the latest data breach as "catastrophic".
The comments follow an unprecedented superinjunction being lifted today, which had prevented the media from reporting that a dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) was released “in error” in February 2022 by a defence official.
The breach resulted in the creation of a secret Afghan relocation scheme - the Afghanistan Response Route - in April 2024, which is understood to have cost around £400 million so far and could cost up to £850 million once completed.
Following the superinjunction being lifted, Mr Humber said that those affected could sue the Government over the "distress" caused by the breach.
Read more: What are superinjunctions and why was Afghan relocation ruling unprecedented?
"Given the extreme sensitivity of the information and the numbers affected, plus the vulnerability of those affected due to the dangers they already face from the Taliban, this data breach can only be described as catastrophic," he said.
"Those affected are likely to have strong claims for substantial compensation against the government for failing to keep the information secure and for inevitable anxiety, fear and distress this has then caused.
"Unfortunately, this is just the latest in a long line of data breaches by the MoD of personal data of Afghan citizens who had previously worked with UK armed forces.
"Frankly, the MoD seems institutionally incapable of keeping information secure."
He added there is an "urgent need for a thorough and independent review of the MoD’s whole data-processing policies and practices in order to try and prevent yet further breaches".
Mr Justice Chamberlain said in a ruling that he was lifting the order after a review conducted by a retired civil servant for the MoD.
He said this review concluded that the Taliban "likely already possess the key information in the dataset" and that it was "unlikely that individuals would be targeted simply because of their work for the UK".
Defence Secretary John Healey offered a "sincere apology" for the breach in the Commons, adding the MoD has "installed new software to securely share data".