A furious Nigel Farage has demanded a “judge-led inquiry” into the remarkable scale of a government decision to fly thousands of Afghans into the UK because of a shocking Ministry of Defence data leak. A dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) was released “in error” in February 2022 by a defence official, following the chaotic withdrawal of US and British forces from Kabul in 2021.

The Ministry of Defence only became aware of the breach when excerpts from the dataset were posted anonymously on a Facebook group in August 2023, and a superinjunction was granted at the High Court in an attempt to prevent the Taliban finding out about the leak. The leak led to the creation of a secret Afghan relocation scheme – the Afghanistan Response Route – in April 2024, and it’s understood to have cost around £400 million so far, with a projected final cost of about £850 million.

A total of around 6,900 people are expected to be relocated by the end of the scheme. The debacle prompted Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted to post on X: “Reform UK demands an independent judge-led inquiry into what happened, who knew, and when.”

Mr Farage has savaged both the Tories and Labour over immigration and Reform UK councils are rolling back onWhitehall decrees on net zero.

Mr Farage urged supporters to sign a petition which desribes the decision to keep the information of the Afghan from the public as “the ultimate betrayal of British people.”

In a foreword to the poll it savages the previous Conservative government who sanctioned the scheme. It adds: “In 2023, the Tory government secretly granted asylum to 24,000 Afghans in the UK, at a cost to the British tax-payer of up to £7 billion. The Tory government took out a super-injunction to prevent the British public knowing.

“This betrayal and cover-up must be investigated, and those responsible held to account. Reform UK demands the government conduct an independent judge-led inquiry into what happened, who knew, and when.

“If you agree, please sign our petition, we will deliver all signatures to No.10 Downing Street on your behalf.”

Former Conservative Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace said the decision to apply for the gagging order over the immigration scheme was “not a cover-up” and that if the leak had been reported it would have “put in peril those we needed to help out”.

Writing in the Telegraph, Sir Ben said that when he was informed of the “error” he was “determined that the first priority was to protect all those that might be at risk”.

“I make no apology for applying to the court for an injunction at the time. It was not, as some are childishly trying to claim, a cover-up,” he said.

“I took the view that if this leak was reported at the time, the existence of the list would put in peril those we needed to help out. Some may disagree but imagine if the Taliban had been alerted to the existence of this list. I would dread to think what would have happened.”

Sir Ben left office shortly after the then-government became aware of the breach, having announced some time earlier that he intended to step down as defence secretary.