Thousands of Afghans whose private details were exposed in a serious data breach by the UK government are unlikely to receive compensation, even though many now fear for their lives under Taliban rule.

A spokesperson for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) told the BBC that it intends to “robustly defend against any legal action or compensation claims,” describing these potential lawsuits as “hypothetical.” Reports also indicate that the MoD does not plan to offer any voluntary financial settlements to affected individuals.

The breach, which occurred in February 2022, saw the personal data of over 19,000 Afghans inadvertently released. Many of these individuals had applied to be evacuated to the UK following the Taliban’s return to power, and the leak has heightened fears that they or their families could become targets of retaliation.

Despite these concerns, an independent inquiry—known as the Rimmer review—commissioned by Defence Secretary John Healey, concluded that simply having one’s name on the leaked spreadsheet is “highly unlikely” to be sufficient reason for targeting by the Taliban.

The government only lifted a legal gag order (a super-injunction) on the incident this week, following the conclusion of the review. The injunction had previously prohibited any public discussion of the leak or even acknowledgment that the court order existed.

Barings Law, a UK-based legal firm, is preparing a major lawsuit on behalf of more than 1,000 Afghan clients, according to The Times. It remains unclear how many of these clients are still living in Afghanistan.

The breach happened when an unnamed government official mistakenly emailed the spreadsheet containing sensitive information outside of the authorized relocation team. The leak only came to light in August 2023, when details of nine individuals were posted on Facebook by an Afghan man who had previously been denied relocation to the UK. He was later promised an expedited review of his own application in exchange for removing the post.

One Afghan man—known by the pseudonym “Ahmed”—told the BBC that while he himself was relocated to the UK for his service with British forces, he was shocked to learn this week that his family members still in Afghanistan were on the leaked list. He said they now live in fear and are constantly changing locations to stay safe.

Ahmed stressed that financial compensation would not solve the problem. “What we truly need is for the government to act quickly and bring our families to safety, whether in the UK or a third country.”

The Taliban regime remains internationally isolated, with Russia being the only major government to recognize its rule. The UK embassy in Kabul has remained closed since the Taliban took power in August 2021, amid ongoing human rights violations, particularly against women.

More than 100 British intelligence and military personnel, including MI6 officers and special forces members, were also compromised in the same breach.

To date, over 36,000 Afghans have been relocated to the UK since the fall of Kabul. According to the MoD, around 16,000 of those affected by the leak were deemed at risk.

The UK government has already spent £400 million on the Afghan relocation scheme, but total costs are projected to rise to between £5.5 billion and £6 billion.