Several Afghans with alleged links to the Taliban have reportedly arrived in the UK on secret flights, following a major data breach by a British military official.
Earlier this month, it emerged that a database containing the details of 100,000 Afghans who had applied for sanctuary in the UK had been mistakenly leaked.
The scheme was set up to help those who had worked with British forces escape retribution after the group’s return to power in August 2021.
But the blunder has fuelled fears that the regime may now possess a 'kill list' of dissidents.
So far, around 18,500 endangered Afghans have been flown to the UK under a covert rescue effort known as Operation Rubific, with a further 23,900 due to arrive from Afghanistan.
New arrivals will be placed in MoD homes and hotels until they find permanent accommodation, while thousands of others left behind will face an uphill struggle for survival against the Taliban.
But those that have been rescued in the airlift scheme include alleged former Taliban fighters themselves, as well as sex offenders and other criminals jailed under Afghanistan's US-led coalition, The Telegraph reports.
Several of these individuals had previously been rejected for asylum due to past convictions for violence and sexual assaults. However, their names subsequently appeared on the leaked list.
This month saw the end of a 23-month High Court super-injunction which prevented the media from reporting the leak and subsequent airlift operation.
High-placed sources allege that people with links to the Taliban were able to infiltrate the rescue scheme. They are said to have managed this by naming Islamic fundamentalists as relatives or dependents needed to accompany them to the UK.
One Afghan official revealed: "We had civilians in our office who had clear ties with the Taliban."
Another said that "corrupt" Afghan officials were exploiting the scheme intended for UK allies by getting people involved with the Taliban to Britain.
Another said: "They are not good for Britain. They were fighting against British forces and killed lots of Brits but now are being fed by Brits in London.
"They have British blood on their hands."
The Ministry of Defence has so far disclosed that up to 20 relatives accompanied some of the Afghans who entered the UK on the scheme.
Four Afghans with Taliban connections who were reportedly rescued under the operation have been identified so far.
One man, who arrived before the fall of Kabul, is believed to have applied for his Taliban-connected relatives to follow him. The MoD confirmed he is now in Britain but did not disclose the whereabouts of his Taliban sympathiser family.
The MoD stated another man who was imprisoned for four years for selling weapons to the Taliban before his release when Kabul fell in August 2021, is now also in the UK.
A third person with a history of sex offences is thought to have applied for asylum and his case is being processed, according to defence sources.
The fourth person is understood to be a British passport holder who sought help getting Taliban sympathisers airlifted to the UK, although the MoD has not commented directly on this.
