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A whistleblower has disclosed the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities left behind classified devices permitting Afghanistan's rulers to identify Afghans who worked with allied troops.

Information Leak Puts Thousands at Risk

The source, identified as Person A, stated that Afghans affected by the information breach were told to relocate and alter their phone numbers to ensure their safety from the Taliban.

Members of Parliament are looking into official management of a serious disclosure of personal details concerning almost nineteen thousand individuals who had applied to move to the UK to flee the regime.

The Information Breach Was Discovered

A spreadsheet containing confidential details, such as identities, addresses and in some cases relative details, was mistakenly released by a staff member employed at British military command in early 2022.

The breach became known in late 2023, when the names of nine people who had applied to move to Britain were posted on online platforms.

Militant Technology

“There seems to be a false assumption that the Taliban lack the same sort of facilities that allied forces use,” she told MPs.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. If they have your phone number, they are able to track your exact position. That is what the unit achieved.”

Under inquiry about if militant forces had access to necessary encryption, Person A declared: “They've got everything.”

Impact of the Information Leak

Preliminary research presented to the committee indicated that no fewer than forty-nine kin and associates of Afghans affected by the leak had been killed.

A legal restriction concerning the breach was implemented in August 2023 and prevented any information about it from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Protective Actions

Given injunction limitations, the source and the volunteer organization associated with advised Afghan families they were supporting that they had “suspicions that certain devices had been compromised”.

“We recommended that they relocate if they could and changed their contact details. That constituted the two main details that, should militant forces acquired this information, would lead to them being traced,” she said.

Contested Findings

The source contested that internal investigation carried out by a retired civil servant had been wrong to conclude that the acquisition of the information by militant forces was “unlikely to substantially change current risk levels”.

“The crucial point is that affected people are not standing up to militant forces; they are in hiding. The primary issue involves their previous employment.”

The source explained horrific abuse suffered by at-risk Afghans, involving electric shock torture, waterboarding, and violent assaults.

“We have had toddlers who have had bones crushed to force relatives to say where someone is,” she testified.