A secret UK government scheme relocated thousands of vulnerable Afghans to Britain after a catastrophic data breach exposed their personal details to potential Taliban retaliation. The breach occurred in 2022 when a Ministry of Defence official mistakenly leaked information of 19,000 people who had applied for UK relocation. Authorities discovered the breach in 2023 when partial data surfaced on Facebook, prompting the creation of the covert Afghan Response Route program. Under this scheme, approximately 4,500 Afghans have been safely moved to the UK so far at a cost of £400 million. The existence of both the data breach and relocation program remained hidden under a court-ordered gag until today’s High Court ruling lifted the injunction.