CGM, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Defence

Facts

The Claimant, CGM, is an Afghan national who sought relocation to the UK under the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR), a policy introduced by the Secretary of State for Defence following the Ministry of Defence's February 2022 data breach, which disclosed personal data of some 25,000 Afghanistan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) applicants and 75,000 family members. The ARR, operational from April 2024, offered relocation to those at 'highest risk' as a result of the breach, either through specifically listed high-profile roles or, under 'condition B(iii)', a different high-profile role assessed as carrying equivalent risk. The policy and guidance were kept confidential, protected by a super-injunction obtained in September 2023. The Claimant, formerly part of Afghanistan's Directorate of Protective Service providing presidential and ministerial security, was assessed on 1 May 2025 as not meeting condition B(iii): his role was found not to be 'high-profile'. He was not informed of this decision until March 2026, after an independent review by Paul Rimmer led the government to discontinue the ARR on 4 July 2025 and the super-injunction was subsequently discharged. The Claimant brought judicial review of the ineligibility decision, challenging it as an error of law or irrational, and as procedurally unfair, before Mrs Justice Collins Rice in the Administrative Court.