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Afghans who worked with UK forces were wrongly refused relocation and left facing years of danger, delay and uncertainty, according to a major report by the Defence Committee. 

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• Read the report

The committee describes the review of Triples cases as a major corrective exercise. The review overturned 884 earlier refusals involving former Afghan specialist unit members. The committee concludes that, for some of those affected, the correction will have come only after years spent in hiding, with depleted savings and fewer realistic routes to safety. 

The report, Shifting heaven and earth? The Afghan data breach and resettlement schemes, finds that the Ministry of Defence’s 2022 Afghan data breach was a foreseeable systemic failure and became part of a wider failure of governance, accountability and public trust. 

The committee says the government’s prolonged use of legal secrecy displaced normal public, parliamentary and audit scrutiny while major decisions affecting thousands of Afghans and substantial public spending were taken behind closed doors. 

It also warns that current self-move policy may leave some eligible Afghans without a realistic route to safety, and that sensitivity around Special Forces operations must not be used to avoid scrutiny of administrative failings in resettlement casework or data handling. 

Chair's comment

Chair of the Defence Committee, Tan Dhesi MP said: 

“This inquiry began with a data breach, but became about the real lives affected by delay, secrecy and flawed decision-making. The government must now explain how it will protect eligible Afghans who cannot safely, lawfully or affordably reach a third country for UK entry-clearance checks. Otherwise, the latest ‘self-move’ policy risks excluding people the UK has promised to help, including some who should have been brought here years ago. 

“The broader picture is deeply troubling. The Ministry of Defence should stick to defence - it should never have been left to run immigration casework schemes. Secrecy has been too easily used as a shield against proper accountability in areas far removed from sensitive operations. The government needs to be more open to scrutiny and challenge, including where Special Forces are involved, and must account for administrative failures that have affected lives, damaged trust, and carried significant cost to the British taxpayer.” 

Key findings 

The committee concludes that: 

• The data breach was a foreseeable systemic failure rather than simply an individual mistake.
• A short period of secrecy may have been justified, but the injunction endured far longer than originally envisaged and imposed serious costs on democratic scrutiny, accountability and public trust.
• The government did not maintain adequate visibility of the direct financial consequences of the breach response.
• The government has not adequately explained how it will assist eligible Afghans who cannot safely, lawfully or affordably self-move to a third country.
• The “no comment” approach associated with Special Forces is inappropriate when questions concern administrative decision-making, data handling and accountability for resettlement casework. 

Triples and self-moves 

The report says the government has a special responsibility to former Triples whose applications were wrongly refused and who may have faced additional risk and hardship while errors were corrected. 

The committee warns that current self-move arrangements may fail eligible Afghans who are destitute, unable to travel lawfully or safely, or at heightened risk if they attempt to leave Afghanistan without assistance. 

Special Forces and accountability 

The committee recognises the sensitivity surrounding Special Forces operations, but says this should not be used to avoid scrutiny of administrative decision-making, data handling and accountability for resettlement casework in which Special Forces have been involved. 

Parliament and the public still need to understand how serious failings occurred, whether lessons have been learned, and whether senior accountability has followed. 

Recommendations 

The committee calls on the government to: 

• Publish a clear policy for eligible Afghans who cannot safely, lawfully or affordably self-move to a third country.
• Treat remaining work involving former Triples affected by serious administrative failings as a corrective exercise, not routine casework, by identifying the affected cohort, prioritising remaining cases, providing clear casework updates and reporting regularly to Parliament until the work is complete.
• Explain who held senior responsibility for data-protection risk in ARAP before the February 2022 breach, whether any accountability processes followed, and how senior accountability is now assigned in comparable high-risk operations.
• Ensure Special Forces involvement in administrative processes does not prevent proper accountability for maladministration. 

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees