British MP Tanmanjeet Dhesi says ‘Afghan nationals at risk’, slams UK govt over data leak

British MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, Chair of Parliament’s Defence Select Committee, has strongly criticised the UK government over its handling of a sensitive data breach that exposed thousands of Afghan nationals to potential danger.

In an interview with Times Radio following the lifting of a long-standing court gag order, Dhesi described the situation as “an absolute mess and wholly unacceptable.”

“It’s shameful that those Afghans who bravely supported our service personnel are now at risk,” he said.

“I am minded to launch a committee investigation.”

Dhesi, a senior Labour MP representing Slough, a diverse town west of London, was elected in 2017 as the UK’s first turbaned Sikh parliamentarian.

Before entering national politics, he served as mayor of Gravesend, a historic riverside town in Kent with a sizeable South Asian population.

The incident stems from a 2022 error by a Ministry of Defence (MoD) official, who mistakenly sent a spreadsheet containing the personal details of more than 33,000 Afghan citizens applying for resettlement in the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).

Many of those listed had worked alongside British troops during the war. In an effort to contain the fallout, the government secured a superinjunction in September 2023 — a rarely used legal tool that barred any mention of the case, even its existence. That order was lifted earlier this week following a prolonged legal challenge by The Times and other British media outlets.

Delivering his judgment last Tuesday, Justice Chamberlain warned that the sweeping secrecy created a “scrutiny vacuum” and “shut down the ordinary mechanisms of accountability which operate in a democracy.”

In the House of Commons on Tuesday, UK Defence Secretary John Healey acknowledged the government’s mishandling of the issue: “I feel deeply uncomfortable about what happened. I apologize on behalf of the government to those affected.”

An independent review, commissioned by a former senior civil servant, concluded that fears of Taliban reprisals had “diminished over time.” However, the review also found that the secrecy surrounding the breach may have made the leaked data more appealing to adversaries.

In a written statement, the Defence Ministry admitted: “This breach was deeply regrettable, and we have taken extensive steps to mitigate the impact. We take our obligations to protect the data of those who worked with us extremely seriously.”

According to figures released this week, 18,500 Afghan nationals have already been relocated to the UK, with 5,400 more scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks. In total, 23,900 individuals affected by the breach are now eligible for resettlement.

In October 2024, Chancellor Rachel Reeves approved a Cabinet plan to expand eligibility and allocate funds for those affected. Government lawyers later clarified that the £7 billion figure cited in court represented the total projected cost of all Afghan relocation programmes over five years.

Meanwhile, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has completed its inquiry. Deputy Commissioner Emily Keaney said: “This type of breach should never happen again. We have made clear recommendations to the Ministry of Defence. No further regulatory action is required at this time.”

Speaking separately on The News Agents podcast, Healey added that the soldier responsible for the original error is “no longer working on the Afghan brief.” He stressed that the government’s priority had been “to protect lives,” not to carry out a “witch hunt.”

Legal proceedings are now being prepared by lawyers representing around 1,000 of the affected Afghans, with potential claims against the government totaling hundreds of millions of pounds. The MoD has declined to comment on pending litigation.

For Dhesi and others, the case highlights serious lapses in government transparency and raises renewed questions about the UK’s obligations to those who risked their lives in service of British military efforts abroad.

Diaspora