In a shocking revelation, the UK government’s covert Afghan evacuation operation has been exposed, with billions spent and the truth finally emerging, raising disturbing questions about transparency and accountability.
At a Glance
- A massive data breach by the UK’s Ministry of Defence exposed thousands of Afghan collaborators to the Taliban, leading to a secret evacuation.
- The UK government spent hundreds of millions on “Operation Rubific” to relocate Afghans while hiding the operation from the public and Parliament.
- A government-requested “superinjunction” was lifted on July 15, 2025, revealing the extent of the operation and the secrecy involved.
- Criticism is mounting over the government’s lack of transparency and financial accountability.
A Secret Evacuation Born From a Catastrophic Failure
The entire mess came to light after a UK official accidentally shared a database in February 2022 containing the personal details of nearly 19,000 Afghan applicants who had worked with British forces. The breach, which potentially put up to 100,000 people at risk of Taliban reprisals, went unnoticed by the government for 18 months.
After the data leak was discovered in August 2023, the government launched a secret evacuation program, officially called the Afghanistan Response Route, to relocate those most at risk. At the same time, it sought an unprecedented superinjunction—a legal gag order so strict that even its existence could not be reported—to hide the catastrophic blunder from the public.
Millions Spent in the Shadows
While the operation was shrouded in secrecy, the financial tally climbed to a staggering £850 million ($1.1 billion). This secrecy was maintained for over 600 days until a High Court judge, responding to legal challenges from media organizations, finally lifted the injunction on July 15, 2025.
The exposure has triggered public outrage and demands for transparency. The judge who lifted the order noted that the gag order had “the effect of completely shutting down the ordinary mechanisms of accountability which operate in a democracy.”
A Political Storm and a Crisis of Trust
In a statement to Parliament, UK Defence Secretary John Healey offered a “sincere apology” for the data breach, admitting he had felt “deeply uncomfortable” with the secrecy inherited from the previous government. So far, around 4,500 people have been relocated under the secret scheme.
Critics from across the political spectrum are condemning the breach and the subsequent cover-up as a massive institutional failure that has shattered public trust. The incident illustrates the critical vulnerabilities in government data protocols and raises profound questions about the use of extreme legal measures to hide embarrassing failures from public scrutiny.