UK Parliament Blames Systemic Failures for Afghan Data Leak

DID Press: A UK parliamentary committee has concluded that the disclosure of personal information belonging to more than 18,500 Afghans who applied for relocation to Britain after the Taliban takeover resulted from a “systemic and foreseeable failure,” sharply criticizing the Ministry of Defense for its handling of the program.

According to a report released by the House of Commons Defence Committee, the Ministry of Defence lacked the expertise required to manage the Afghan relocation scheme and relied on secrecy to avoid public scrutiny. The committee said the data breach was not the result of a single human error but stemmed from inadequate systems, weak operational procedures, insufficient staff training, poor institutional continuity, and a deficient data protection culture.

The report states that the breach came to light in August 2023 after a Ministry of Defence employee shared a Microsoft Excel file containing the personal details of more than 18,500 applicants under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) with a trusted third party. However, media organizations were prevented from reporting the incident until July 2025 due to a highly restrictive court injunction.

Tan Dhesi, chair of the Defence Committee, said the Ministry of Defence should have remained focused on defence responsibilities rather than managing immigration cases. He also described the use of Excel spreadsheets for handling highly sensitive personal data as evidence of a “continuing cultural failure” within the department.

The committee further criticized the government’s reliance on secrecy, arguing that withholding information should not prevent Parliament and the public from understanding how such administrative failures occurred.