The personal data of Afghan interpreters who worked for the British forces and seeking to settle in the United Kingdom have been disclosed, announced the British Minister of Defense on Tuesday, adding that an investigation had been opened.
According to the BBC, the email addresses of more than 250 Afghans seeking to leave their country for the UK were mistakenly copied into an email from the Department of Defense, allowing all recipients of the message to see their names and sometimes associated photos.
“This data breach unnecessarily endangered lives”
“To say that made me angry is an understatement,” said Defense Minister Ben Wallace, who apologized, during a question-and-answer session in the House of Commons. The minister clarified that after this error, a second email was sent advising recipients to delete the previous message and change their email addresses. An investigation was opened and one person was suspended pending the results.
Several politicians have criticized the government after the incident, pointing to the potential risks for Afghan interpreters who have sought to leave their country since the Taliban took power last month. “We told these Afghan interpreters that we would ensure their safety but this data leak unnecessarily put lives in danger,” lamented on Twitter MP John Healey, in charge of defense issues within Labor, the main party of opposition.
“Criminal negligence”
He pleaded for the government to “urgently step up efforts to bring these Afghans safely to the UK.” In the conservative camp of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, MP Johnny Mercer also denounced on the same social network a “criminal negligence”, believing that it would probably force interpreters to “change again housing” in haste to avoid reprisals.
Since the launch of the UK ARAP program to bring local staff working in Afghanistan to the UK, some 68,000 Afghans have applied to leave.