In response to the British Ministry of Defense “accidentally” leaking the detailed personal information of thousands of Afghans who applied to immigrate to the UK, British Defense Secretary John Healey said on the 15th that 900 Afghans and 3,600 family members have come to the UK under a secret resettlement program. It is reported that the British government may have to spend 5.5 billion to 6 billion pounds (about 7.36 billion to 8.03 billion US dollars) to provide asylum.
Healey said that an official passed an email at the time, resulting in the names of about 150 Afghans who applied for the resettlement program (ARP) being leaked. In fact, the email contained the names of nearly 19,000 Afghans who applied for the ARP.
Because reporters discovered the leak, the court immediately ordered a ban on reporting. A total of 8 organizations and reporters were asked not to report the incident, and the ban has been issued for two years.
Healey said that a plan has been drawn up to transfer Afghans who are in particular danger. The plan is called the “Afghan Response Route” (ARR). Currently, about 3,000 people are protected by the ARR, who have undergone strict security checks before entering the UK and are included in the total number of Afghan arrivals published publicly.
He said a review of the program had been carried out, and the report showed that there was limited risk that the government could retaliate against the Afghans in the initial leak; but he also said that the government may have information about these people. The ARR is an extremely important intervention measure that can respond to potential risks.
Currently, about 900 people have come to the UK or transited through the UK as planned, including 3,600 family members. The program has cost 400 million pounds, and the total cost of moving all planned refugees from Afghanistan to the UK is about 5.5 billion to 6 billion pounds (about 7.36 billion to 8.03 billion US dollars). The Ministry of Defense has also tried to contact all those affected by the data leak and issued them a warning. He also admitted that it is not possible to contact everyone at present, but anyone who thinks they have been leaked can go to the Ministry of Defense website to find help information.
