Taliban threats follow ex-Afghan police worker after UK MoD data leak, as resettlement refused

Taliban threats follow ex-Afghan police worker after UK MoD data leak, as resettlement refused

A former Afghan police worker who served alongside British forces says they are living in “constant fear” of Taliban reprisals after a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence data breach reportedly exposed their identity, while a UK resettlement application has been turned down despite what they describe as years of loyal service.

The individual, whose precise location and personal details are being withheld for security reasons, told The Guardian that threats began appearing soon after the leak brought their history with Western forces to light. The case has ignited fresh scrutiny of the government’s data security practices and the narrowing eligibility thresholds within its Afghan relocation schemes.

A breach that ended anonymity

The Ministry of Defence has faced persistent criticism over information security since the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The latest revelation centres on a leak that, according to the former officer, stripped away the anonymity they had relied upon to remain safe inside the country.

“The moment my details were exposed, the threats started,” the former police worker is reported to have said. “I served for years, believing that the UK would protect me if things fell apart. Now I cannot sleep without checking every shadow.”

The Ministry of Defence has previously acknowledged past data handling failures involving Afghan nationals, including a widely condemned incident in 2021 where email distribution lists inadvertently revealed the addresses of interpreters and other locally employed staff. Officials have not yet publicly commented on the specific leak referenced in this latest account, and the MoD did not respond to a request for further detail at the time of publication.

Resettlement refused, danger remains

Under Britain’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the broader Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), thousands of Afghans who worked for or with the UK government have been brought to safety. However, eligibility criteria have been tightened over successive policy revisions, and advocates argue that many at-risk individuals now fall through the gaps.

The former police worker stated their application was rejected despite what they called “years of loyal service in some of the most dangerous districts.” The refusal letter, they claim, did not contest the fact of the service but concluded that the role did not meet the required threshold for relocation.

“I provided intelligence, I patrolled alongside British mentors, I built cases the UK relied on — and now I am told I am not eligible while the people who want to kill me know exactly who I am,” the individual said.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has repeatedly warned that former Afghan security personnel and anyone perceived as having collaborated with Western governments remain at “extreme risk” of targeted violence by the Taliban. Even individuals who never carried weapons are being hunted, rights monitors say, simply for administrative or support roles.

Wider fallout from data failures

The leak that allegedly unmasked the former police worker is part of a broader pattern that human rights organisations and parliamentarians have been tracking for several years. In multiple hearings, the Commons Defence Committee has pressed the MoD to quantify the number of Afghans whose identities were compromised and to detail what steps were taken to mitigate the danger.

While the UK government has relocated more than 24,000 people from Afghanistan since April 2021, campaign groups estimate thousands more eligible individuals remain stranded. The intersection of data breaches with ineligibility rulings creates a uniquely perilous cohort — people whose visibility to the Taliban was magnified by an official error, yet who have no path to the protection they were promised.

Shadow defence spokespeople have previously called for an independent inquiry into all MoD data leaks involving Afghan nationals, arguing that the government’s duty of care does not end at the decision letter. Charities providing legal assistance to refused applicants say they are handling a growing caseload of individuals who cite exposure through official channels as a material change in circumstances that should trigger a review.

For the former police worker at the heart of this account, the combination of a leaked identity and a refused resettlement application has turned daily life into a waiting game. “I cannot go back to my village. I cannot stay where I am much longer. Every door I knock on closes,” they said.

The Ministry of Defence has been approached for comment. The UK government’s Afghan resettlement information can be found on its official collections page. Additional protection context is maintained by the UNHCR.