Serious questions over UK secret Afghan relocations: PM
Afghan Resettlement controversy
Prime Minister Keir Starmer highlighted that the UK government should honour its obligation to Afghan allies following a data breach that exposed the identities of nearly 19,000 individuals who requested relocation to Britain.
Key facts
- 900 Afghans and 3,600 family members have already entered Britain under the Afghan Response Route.
- Applications from 600 additional Afghans are currently being accepted, raising the estimated total cost of the scheme to approximately £850 million.
- Since the fall of Kabul in August 2021, Britain has accepted roughly 36,000 Afghans through various resettlement programmes.
Political implications
Parliamentary Speaker Lindsay Hoyle opened a written debate, describing the episode as raising “significant constitutional issues.” He has asked the clerks in the House of Commons to consider whether any lessons must be learned from the case.
Former Defence Minister Ben Wallace defended the decision to seek a super‑injunction in August 2023, stating that he made no apology for applying to the court at the time. Wallace argued that exposing the list would have put those sought to help in peril.
Defence Minister John Healey emphasized the severity of the failings inherited from the previous Conservative government, including a major data breach, a super‑injunction, and a secret resettlement route that cost hundreds of millions of pounds. Healey called for ministers who served under the opposition party to answer serious questions about how these were allowed to occur.
Cost estimates
Healey estimated the total cost of relocating individuals from Afghanistan to Britain under all resettlement schemes to lie between £5.5 billion and £6 billion.
