🔗 Share this article

An informant has disclosed the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK left behind classified equipment permitting the Taliban to locate local individuals who worked with allied troops.

Information Leak Puts Numerous in Danger

The whistleblower, identified as Person A, stated that individuals impacted by the security lapse were told to relocate and switch their contact details to ensure their safety from the Taliban.

Lawmakers are investigating the UK government's handling of a massive breach of confidential data affecting approximately 19k Afghans who had applied to move to the United Kingdom to escape the regime.

The Information Breach Was Discovered

A data file with private information, including names, addresses and occasionally household data, was accidentally leaked by a staff member employed at UK special forces headquarters in last year.

The leak was discovered months later, when the names of multiple applicants who had sought to relocate to the UK appeared on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is a false assumption that Afghan rulers do not have comparable resources that allied forces use,” the whistleblower testified to the committee.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Should they obtain a contact number, they can locate your exact position. That is what specialized teams achieved.”

Under inquiry about if militant forces had access to necessary encryption, Person A stated: “They possess all resources.”

Consequences of the Information Leak

Initial findings submitted to the investigation suggested that approximately fifty kin and co-workers of individuals impacted by the incident had been killed.

A legal restriction about the leak was put in force in late 2023 and prevented any information concerning it from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Protective Actions

Due to legal constraints, the whistleblower and the non-governmental organization she was working with advised affected households they were supporting that they had “apprehensions that certain devices had been intercepted”.

“We advised that they relocate when possible and changed their phone numbers. These represented the two main details that, if authorities acquired these details, would cause their location being found,” she said.

Disputed Conclusions

The source contested that an official review performed by an ex-government employee had been mistaken to conclude that the acquisition of the records by militant forces was “not significantly alter an individual's existing exposure”.

“The crucial point is that affected people are not standing up to the Taliban; they are in hiding. Everything boils down to past work history.”

Person A described terrible treatment experienced by at-risk Afghans, comprising electric shock torture, waterboarding, and violent assaults.

“We have had four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to pressure the family to say where someone is,” the whistleblower revealed.