London acknowledged that it left behind hundreds of eligible Afghans who should have embarked on a hasty collective withdrawal following the Taliban’s return to power.
The BBC reported that an email sent by the Defense Ministry team had mistakenly listed the addresses of more than 250 people, leaving them unnoticed. Many of these letters contained photographs of Afghan professionals.
One translator told the BBC that “this mistake could cost translators their lives, especially those who remain in Afghanistan.”
On Monday evening, a Defense Ministry spokesman said that “an investigation into the leakage of information by the Afghan resettlement policy has begun.”
“We apologize to everyone who has suffered from this violation and we are working to ensure that this does not happen again,” said the spokesman.
The mistake concerns Afghans who are still in their country and remain hidden from the Taliban, the BBC reports, adding that some of these professionals are based in other countries.
The message told the translators that the team is doing everything they can to help them move. At the same time, he warned email recipients not to leave their current location if they believe it is unsafe. After 30 minutes, the ministry sent another message asking to change the email addresses.
The data breach angered Conservative MP Johnny Mercer, who called it “criminal negligence.”
A few weeks ago, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that 311 people eligible for the UK translation and assistance program remained in Afghanistan, including translators.
“We will do our best to ensure that they get the safe passage they deserve,” Johnson told Parliament.
Between the British and Afghans, Britain has pulled more than 15,000 people out of Afghanistan since the Taliban regained power in Kabul.
