Afghan migrants exploited Britain's most damaging military data breach to bring extended families to the UK, government sources have disclosed.
Up to 22 relatives were successfully relocated, despite previously being rejected for asylum.
The revelations emerge after a super-injunction was finally lifted this week, exposing how the 2022 breach involving nearly 19,000 Afghan applicants led to unprecedented family reunifications.
Government insiders revealed that Afghans airlifted to Britain averaged eight family members each, forcing ministers to scramble for accommodation.
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|British nationals and Afghan evacuees disembark a flight from Afghanistan at RAF Brize Norton on August 26, 2021
Officials were compelled to consider "knocking two houses into one" on military bases to house individual families, as the scale of arrivals overwhelmed existing facilities.
The judiciary significantly broadened entry requirements through successive rulings, with High Court judge Mrs Justice Yip determining last November that family members required no blood or legal connection to applicants.
Her ruling stated: "The term 'family member' does not have any fixed meaning in law or in common usage. Indeed, the word 'family' may mean different things to different people and in different contexts. There may be cultural considerations there is no requirement for a blood or legal connection."
Defence ministers had initially sought to limit arrivals to married couples and their children. However, UK courts repeatedly expanded eligibility criteria, citing the European Convention on Human Rights.
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The Conservative government imposed a super-injunction in September 2023 to conceal details of the emergency Afghanistan Response Route, established after the data breach.
Sir Grant Shapps has been accused of "trying to rewrite history" after claiming on Friday he was "surprised" the injunction remained in place for so long.
The former defence secretary extended the secrecy measures shortly before the general election, ensuring the public remained unaware of the scheme's full implications until the injunction was finally lifted earlier this week.
Sources in Afghanistan reported that criminals, including junior staff who had stolen from British bases and sold weapons to the Taliban, entered the UK with large numbers of family members during the "chaos" following the data breach.
PA | Sir Grant Shapps has been accused of 'trying to rewrite history' after claiming on Friday he was 'surprised' the injunction remained in place for so long
Meanwhile, military commanders who had served alongside the British Army were left behind.
The confusion arose after a defence official wrongly shared a list of nearly 19,000 Afghans in 2022.
The applicants included special forces soldiers who had worked with British Armed Forces during the war in Afghanistan, making them potential Taliban targets.
Previously sealed court documents revealed that merely 10 per cent of extended family members had qualified under existing routes before the breach.
Officials estimated that "upwards of 55 per cent of AFM will be eligible in light of the incident up to approximately 12,500 AFM across all eligible cohorts."
Only 2,200 individuals were previously deemed eligible, meaning Sir Grant was prepared to accept over 10,000 who had been rejected.
The resettlement programme sparked major government rows this week, as Cabinet ministers expressed concerns about bogus claimants potentially entering the UK and the implications for national security.