Families trapped in Afghanistan approved for sanctuary in Britain have stopped being evacuated, the High Court has heard, despite the defence secretary’s pledge to honour the UK’s debt to them.
Afghans found eligible for relocation to the UK as a result of their previous work alongside the British are no longer being helped to flee the Taliban-run country, according to lawyers and caseworkers supporting those in limbo.
The claims emerged in a case involving two Afghans, who have been approved for UK relocation and who are named FRY and BNM1 to protect their safety. They are challenging the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over the delays to their evacuation.
In a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday, Tim Owen KC, barrister for claimant FRY, told the judge that “on the face of it, it appears there is a freeze on relocations from Afghanistan”.
He said the claimants “are being faced with a complete information black hole” with most of the legal proceedings happening in secret, where the claimant’s legal teams are not present.
Mr Owen pointed to a statement from armed forces minister Luke Pollard this week that committed the MoD to providing support and relocation for eligible Afghans in third countries, such as Pakistan – but not from Afghanistan.
Resettlement schemes for Afghans to come to the UK after the Taliban takeover were closed suddenly in July last year, just before a judge lifted an unprecedented MoD superinjunction used to hide a serious data breach affecting thousands of applicants to the Afghan resettlement schemes.
In his statement to parliament after the news of the data breach broke, defence secretary John Healey committed to honour invitations already made to “any named person still in Afghanistan and their immediate family”, adding: “When this nation makes a promise, we should keep it”.
He told MPs: “I will reiterate the commitment we made then to process every single outstanding Arap (Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy) application and relocate those who may prove eligible”.
David Sellwood, barrister for BNM1, told the court that his client had made his application to the Arap resettlement programme in November 2021, was approved for relocation in August 2024 subject to security checks, and then had his relocation confirmed in July last year.
However the Afghan national is still in limbo in Afghanistan and has not been evacuated. He is seeking to have his case joined with that of FRY so that they can be heard together at a joint hearing in June.
The Independent revealed last month that thousands of Afghans who were potentially put at risk after their data was leaked by the MoD are still waiting to be brought to safety in the UK, more than six months after the scandal.
Around 400 people who supported British efforts in Afghanistan and later had their personal information breached by the UK government have been left “trapped” in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries, struggling to get out. Some 1,900 of their family members have also been left in limbo.
The latest figures, from December 2025, obtained through freedom of information requests, show how UK evacuations are “working far too slowly when people’s lives are threatened”, campaigners said.
Some 18,700 applicants to the government’s Afghan resettlement schemes had their personal details and contact information leaked by an MoD blunder in 2022, which was only discovered in the summer of 2023 after a portion of a spreadsheet was shared on social media.
The discovery of the mistake sparked one of the most extraordinary secret government operations in modern history over fears that up to 100,000 lives were in danger. An unprecedented gagging order was used to cover up the breach, with affected families only discovering the danger they had potentially been put in when the superinjunction was lifted in July last year.
The MoD has been contacted for comment.
