UK Government secrecy prevents reporting on impact of data leak

The Daily Telegraph says hundreds of Afghan military & police have been murdered by the Taliban since Defence Ministry released names

July 17, 2025 (The Daily Telegraph) — More than 200 Afghan soldiers and police murdered by the Taliban since a “kill list” was leaked by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) have been named in a dossier.

Their names were compiled by independent caseworkers highlighting the plight of Afghans who worked with British and US forces.

But a court order imposed by a senior judge prevents The Telegraph from reporting whether the dead had first appeared on the MoD list, which was accidentally made public in February 2022.

The Taliban claims the MoD list came into its possession in 2022 and that it has been hunting down those identified in it ever since.