Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 17, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
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A UK data breach exposed spies and SAS troops' identities, leading to Afghan relocations. The Ministry of Defence leak prompted security concerns.
LONDON (Reuters) -Details of more than 100 British nationals including spies and special forces soldiers were included in one of the country's worst ever data breaches that led to thousands of Afghans being relocated to the UK, British media reported on Thursday.
The leak by the Ministry of Defence in early 2022, which surfaced on Facebook a year later, prompted the relocation of more than 16,000 Afghans to Britain as of May this year amid concerns that they would face deadly reprisals from the Taliban.
The personal information of more than 100 British officials, including spies from the foreign intelligence agency MI6 and special forces such as the SAS (Special Air Service), was included in the data leak, according to BBC News and other outlets.
The Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
On Tuesday, Defence Secretary John Healey issued an apology, acknowledging that the leak also included information about lawmakers and senior military figures who supported Afghan allies seeking refuge in the UK.
The breach led the former Conservative government to launch a secret relocation programme, estimated to cost around 2 billion pounds ($2.68 billion) to protect those affected.
A court-imposed 'superinjunction' which banned media coverage of the leak or the relocation programme and even that there was such a veto in place, was lifted on Tuesday.
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(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, Editing by William Maclean)
The data breach included personal information of more than 100 British nationals, including spies from MI6 and special forces soldiers from the SAS.
The leak raised concerns for the safety of Afghans who had worked with British forces, leading to the relocation of over 16,000 Afghans to Britain.
Defence Secretary John Healey issued an apology acknowledging the leak and its implications for lawmakers and senior military figures involved in supporting Afghan allies.
The relocation programme, initiated by the former Conservative government, was estimated to cost around 2 billion pounds ($2.68 billion).
A court-imposed 'superinjunction' that banned media coverage of the leak and the relocation programme was lifted on Tuesday.
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