Inside the two-year battle to reveal MoD data breach that put 100,000 lives at risk

Inside the £7bn secret scramble to save lives after MoD data breachThe Independent

Transcript

00:00A data breach by the Ministry of Defence has put up to 100,000 lives at risk

00:05and sparked the largest covert peacetime evacuation in UK history.

00:10My name is Holly Bancroft and I'm going to explain what's happened.

00:14Today, a High Court judge lifted a super injunction

00:18that had been brought by the UK government against the world.

00:22This injunction prevented the UK press from disclosing what had happened until now.

00:28The leak in February 2022 exposed the details of thousands of Afghans

00:34who said they were at risk of reprisals from the Taliban

00:37and wanted to be brought to Britain for safety.

00:40More than 16,000 Afghans affected by the leak have already been brought to the UK

00:46and ministers approved a multi-billion pound evacuation scheme.

00:50The evacuation was kept secret from MPs and the public

00:53and ministers tried to hide the true reason behind it from parliament.

00:58An injunction is a legal order which prevents a person or publication disclosing certain information.

01:04A super injunction adds an extra layer on top of that

01:08and prevents anyone from sharing information about the injunction existing itself.

01:13The super injunction has been in place for nearly two years.

01:17The Defence Secretary John Healy commissioned a review into the government's approach in January this year.

01:24As a result of the findings of that review, he recommended that the injunction be discharged

01:30and the press can now report on what has happened.