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A confidential source has told the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK failed to secure confidential equipment permitting the militant group to track down local individuals that had served with western forces.

Information Leak Puts Numerous at Risk

The whistleblower, called Person A, stated that people concerned by the information breach were told to move homes and switch their mobile numbers to protect themselves from the Taliban.

Members of Parliament are currently examining official management of a massive disclosure of confidential data concerning almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had asked to relocate to the UK to flee the Taliban.

The Information Breach Was Discovered

A data file with private information, including identities, phone numbers and in some cases family information, was accidentally leaked by an official employed at British military command in last year.

The breach came to light in late 2023, when details of nine people who had sought to relocate to the UK surfaced on Facebook.

Militant Technology

Many believe there's a misunderstanding that militant forces are without comparable resources that we have,” the whistleblower testified to the committee.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they possess it. If they have mobile details, they can trace your precise location. That is what the unit accomplished.”

When questioned about whether the Taliban owned advanced decryption, Person A confirmed: “They've got everything.”

Impact of the Security Lapse

Initial findings provided to the inquiry estimated that at least 49 kin and co-workers of Afghans affected by the incident had been executed.

A legal restriction about the breach was implemented in late 2023 and prevented relevant facts concerning it from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Safety Measures

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

“Our suggestion was that they moved when possible and switched their phone numbers. That constituted the two main details that, if the Taliban obtained such data, would cause their location being found,” she said.

Disputed Conclusions

Person A contested that an official review carried out by a retired civil servant had been incorrect to determine that the obtaining of the records by the regime was “unlikely to substantially change present danger”.

“The crucial point is that these individuals are not confronting the authorities; they live secretly. All concerns relate to past work history.”

Person A described disturbing treatment experienced by concerned people, comprising electrocution, simulated drowning, and physical abuse.

“We have had toddlers who have had bones crushed to try to get households to say where someone is,” she testified.