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A whistleblower has told a parliamentary probe that British authorities abandoned classified equipment enabling Afghanistan's rulers to locate Afghans who collaborated with western forces.

Information Leak Puts Thousands at Risk

The whistleblower, called Person A, stated that Afghans affected by the security lapse were advised to change residences and alter their phone numbers to ensure their safety from the Taliban.

Members of Parliament are currently examining official response of a catastrophic leak of confidential data affecting nearly 19,000 individuals who had asked to come to Britain to avoid militant rule.

Data Disclosure Happened

A data file including their personal data, such as identities, contact details and occasionally family information, was inadvertently disclosed by an official stationed at UK special forces headquarters in early 2022.

The breach was discovered in late 2023, when details of several individuals who had sought to move to Britain surfaced on online platforms.

Regime's Resources

It appears there is a misunderstanding that the Taliban are without the same sort of facilities that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to MPs.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they have it. If they have mobile details, they can locate your exact position. That's precisely what intelligence groups did.”

When questioned about whether the Taliban possessed advanced decryption, the source declared: “They've got everything.”

Consequences of the Security Lapse

Preliminary research submitted to the investigation indicated that at least 49 kin and colleagues of individuals impacted by the leak had been murdered.

A gag order regarding the breach was enacted in last year and prevented all details concerning it from being made public until July 2025.

Safety Measures

Due to legal constraints, the whistleblower and the aid group she was working with informed Afghan families they were working with that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been compromised”.

“We advised that they relocate if they could and switched their contact details. That constituted the primary information that, if the Taliban acquired these details, would lead to identification and capture,” the source testified.

Disputed Conclusions

Person A argued that internal investigation carried out by a former official had been mistaken to conclude that the possession of the records by the regime was “not significantly alter present danger”.

“The crucial point is that affected people are in hiding from the authorities; they remain concealed. Everything boils down to past work history.”

Person A described disturbing treatment suffered by affected individuals, comprising electric shock torture, interrogation techniques, and violent assaults.

“There are cases of young kids who have had limbs fractured to pressure the family to say where someone is,” the whistleblower revealed.