Afghans said to have applied for sanctuary in Britain are being arrested as they try to use the UK government’s website to check if their details were on the leaked dataset.
At least five, including former members of the Triples Special Forces, have been held as the Taliban targets internet cafes.
The Ministry of Defence sent out an email, to those whose data was suspected of being compromised, apologising. It was followed by a second email with a link for those who had risked their lives for the UK to confirm if they their details provided when they applied for the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) were included.
Those whose details were breached received a message on a red background confirming they are a victim of the blunder, while those whose data was not part of the leak received a message on green.
But Afghans – and campaigners in the UK – warn that they believe the Taliban is using this to arrest those who worked for Britain as they carry out the necessary checks.
Many Afghans do not have Wi-Fi at home and are forced to use internet cafes which are in the major cities and towns.
The Taliban hunting those who worked for UK are said to have stepped-up the monitoring of the cafes in recent days.
The Mail knows the cities the arrests have taken place in but is not naming them. At least five men and two women are reported to have been arrested while checking their emails.
British lawyers and campaigners have sent out warnings to their clients in hiding telling them to stay away from the cafes.
Sorry for any inconvenience: how the British government responds to Afghans who check on the UK website to confirm if their details were part of the massive data leak
Victorious Taliban fighters patrolling the streets of Kabul, using vehicles, weapons and often uniform seized from the Afghan National Army and police
The message from panicking British officials which ‘struck the fear of god’ into Afghans hiding from Taliban revenge squads
Former frontline interpreter Wazir, 38, said: ‘We are aware of the arrests. Unfortunately, those whose data may have been leaked want to check and have gone to the cafes. I am told they may have been arrested, with the proof that they worked beside the British in front of them (on the screens).’
The details of Wazir, who worked for five years with UK forces, together with that of his family are on the list but he said he had been able to confirm that on the MOD website from his home.
‘Many do not have Wi-Fi and this makes them vulnerable,’ he said. ‘The Taliban has the technology from China also to monitor and track our phones so we know how vulnerable that makes us.
‘We are terrified our data entrusted to Britain will be used to hunt us down. Since news of the leak, I have moved my family’s hiding place and will do so again next week.’
In a rare official announcement yesterday, the Taliban did not confirm or deny it had the dataset but claimed it already had the details of those who had worked for the UK and US, including biometrics, as they were left behind during the chaotic pullout in August 2021.
It was reported yesterday that up to ten former members of the Afghan forces had been killed by the Taliban near the border with Iran and Pakistan.
The Mail’s report revealing Taliban assassins had murdered at least ten, who may have helped the West, in the days after the data leak was revealed. Four are said to have been killed in one ambush.
The MOD said: ‘The independent Rimmer Review concluded that it is highly unlikely that merely being on the spreadsheet would be grounds for an individual to be targeted, and this is the basis on which the court lifted its super injunction last week. The review also found that the Taliban already had access to a wealth of data.
‘The Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement last week announcing an amnesty for individuals named as part of the data breach, declaring those named it would not face persecution.
‘We continue to urge the Taliban to honour their public amnesty towards members of the former Government and special forces.’
After the Daily Mail was the first newspaper in the world to discover the data breach, in August 2023, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) mounted a cover-up and successfully hushed up our exclusive.
They obtained a superinjunction and ever since then, cloaked by the unprecedented news blackout, ministers have been clandestinely running one of the biggest peacetime evacuation missions in modern British history to rescue people the UK had imperilled: smuggling thousands out of Afghanistan and flying them to Britain at vast cost, with taxpayers being neither asked nor informed.
Meanwhile secret hearings in the High Court have heard how Parliament has been deliberately kept oblivious – or even ‘misled’, as a judge was told.
So far 18,500 Afghans whose data was lost have been flown to Britain or are on their way in taxpayer-funded jets. A total of 23,900 are earmarked for arrival. They are living in MOD homes or hotels until permanent homes are found. More than 70,000 others will be left behind in Afghanistan and will have to fend for themselves against vengeful Taliban warlords.
Incredibly, hundreds of the Afghans rescued by the Government are now poised to sue the UK for leaking their data in the first place – potentially adding a further £1billion compensation bonanza to the colossal costs of the rescue and rehousing mission.
