Taliban fighters may have been granted asylum in Britain after slipping through vetting procedures following the 2021 evacuation from Kabul, former defence secretary Ben Wallace has warned, according to MailOnline.
Wallace told a parliamentary defence committee inquiry that he could not rule out the possibility that militants entered the UK during the chaotic evacuation after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.
“I’m sure in a large-scale evacuation we didn’t get everything right,” Wallace said while giving evidence to lawmakers examining a major Afghan data breach that later prompted a secret UK airlift programme.
The inquiry relates to a leak of personal data involving about 100,000 Afghans who had applied for sanctuary in Britain, which the government later acknowledged could have exposed them to reprisals. The leak led to a covert evacuation effort, known as Operation Rubific, launched in 2023, MailOnline reported.
Wallace said he could not comment on changes made to relocation schemes after he left office, including whether vetting standards were relaxed under pressure following the data breach.
The Afghan evacuation in August 2021, codenamed Operation Pitting, followed the withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces and the rapid collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government. Britain evacuated thousands of Afghans, many of whom had worked with UK forces, under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).
Wallace told the committee that he had insisted the Ministry of Defence oversee ARAP rather than transferring it to the Home Office, a decision he later questioned.
“There is no evidence to suggest any member of the Taliban has been relocated through the ARAP,” a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said, according to MailOnline. “Anyone coming to the UK must pass strict security and entry checks.”
The data breach and subsequent secrecy surrounding the evacuation have prompted sharp criticism from lawmakers, with questions raised about transparency, accountability and the long-term cost to taxpayers, which MailOnline said could reach billions of pounds.
