Revealed: 24,000 Afghans offered asylum in UK after data breach

Britain has secretly offered asylum to nearly 24,000 Afghan soldiers and their families caught up in the most serious data breach in history, it can be revealed.

The leak led the Government to earmark £7 billion to relocate Afghan refugees to the UK over five years, piling pressure on the Chancellor’s already stretched budget.

Despite the huge cost to the taxpayer, the breach was kept secret from the public for 683 days by two successive governments after the first use of a super-injunction by ministers.