UK government exposed 100,000 Afghan allies - then turned their back on them

News that the UK government released data of up to 100,000 Afghan nationals with ties to the UK is shocking and incredibly dangerous. The affected individuals worked with UK armed forces and officials in Afghanistan, and this disclosure exposed them to risk of torture or execution by the Taliban, a group not known for forgiveness. 

The risk was so severe that the then Conservative government introduced a secret resettlement scheme, the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR), for those endangered by the data breach. It appears that the UK government ultimately agreed to resettle around 4,500 people under the ARR, though some have still not actually made it here. This is less than 5% of the people potentially endangered by the breach.

This week, the Labour government informed the UK High Court that a “super injunction”, issued in 2022 and prohibiting reporting of the breach, could be lifted. They also closed the ARR, meaning no more visas will be issued under this route.

Labour’s closure of the ARR swiftly follows their ruthless and cruel decision earlier this month to close two other Afghan resettlement routes. There are now no safe routes for Afghans to reach the UK.

It also follows a change in approach to Afghan asylum claims. Before last year’s general election, 98% of Afghan asylum claims were approved. Since the election, the grant rate has plummeted to 37%. The government’s guidance on Afghan asylum cases was changed in August 2024, and now states that the country is essentially as ‘safe’ as it was pre-Taliban takeover.

Limited information has been provided about why the UK government considers Taliban ruled Afghanistan to now be safer, but this assessment was likely reached at the upper echelons of government. A lack of diplomatic ties with the Taliban though means the UK government cannot actually return these failed asylum seekers. There are now then several thousand Afghan nationals stuck in immigration limbo, unable to work, unable to leave the UK and housed in asylum accommodation at public expense for an indefinite period. 

Since news of the data breach broke, Labour have continued to callously and flippantly bat away concerns about Afghans’ safety. Defence Secretary, John Healey, stated on Wednesday that not only does the data breach not give people the right to resettlement, but it also does not give them the right to claim asylum. 

Healey’s positions are deeply troubling, but reflect his government’s rapid and total abandonment of Afghan nationals. Any Afghan exposed to danger because of this data breach should without question be offered safe passage to the UK. However, whilst Healey and his government have refused to do this, they have gone even further by effectively pre-determining any asylum claims based on the data breach.

Asylum claims cannot be lodged overseas and people have to first make it to the UK to submit a claim. The inability to apply for asylum from abroad is why people fleeing conflict and persecution have no choice but to take dangerous journeys to the UK. 

Afghans make up around 15% of people crossing the Channel, and until recently 98% of their asylum claims were approved. Whilst the Labour government has already adopted an increasingly harsh approach to Afghan asylum claims, Healey’s statement indicates that they will look to refuse any claims that evidence a risk of torture or worse due to the person’s data being leaked.

The phrase, we are here because you were there, is rightly used to explain why many people from countries still suffering the affects of UK colonial atrocities make their way to these shores. This is never more apt than in the case of Afghanistan, which more than any country in recent history has suffered because of the dreadful policies pursued by UK and other western governments.

Throughout the last 20 years, it has been clear that western governments do not value Afghan lives, and the amount of human suffering this has led to is unfathomable.

Whilst the UK has now pulled out of Afghanistan, they continue to treat Afghans with contempt and make clear that they simply do not consider their safety an issue of great importance. This was the case when Boris Johnson’s administration prioritised the evacuation of animals over Afghan people, it was the case when Rishi Sunak’s administration was fighting desperately to send Afghans to Rwanda and it is the case now as Keir Starmer’s administration slams the door shut on all forms of Afghan resettlement.

Afghanistan remains unsafe. It remains under the control of a brutal and oppressive regime. The UK government should remember the role it has played in making Afghanistan what it is today. They should also remember that it is the Afghan people who continue to suffer as a result and have no choice but to seek safety elsewhere. Rather than turning them away, we should recognise our role and responsibility and immediately ensure that those needing protection and with clear ties to the UK are afforded safe passage.