🔗 Share this article

An informant has disclosed a parliamentary probe that the UK left behind confidential equipment enabling the militant group to track down Afghans that had served with international military.

Information Leak Puts Thousands in Danger

The source, called Person A, explained that Afghans affected by the information breach were instructed to change residences and change their contact details to avoid detection from the ruling authorities.

Lawmakers are investigating the Conservative government's management of a massive breach of personal details affecting nearly 19,000 Afghans who had asked to come to Britain to flee militant rule.

How the Leak Happened

An electronic document containing confidential details, such as identities, addresses and occasionally relative details, was mistakenly released by a worker working at British military command in last year.

The breach came to light in late 2023, when details of multiple applicants who had applied to settle in the UK appeared on social media.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is this misconception that militant forces are without similar capabilities that western nations possess,” she told MPs.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Should they obtain your phone number, they can trace you down to within metres. This is exactly how specialized teams did.”

During testimony about if militant forces owned advanced decryption, Person A stated: “They have complete capability.”

Consequences of the Information Leak

Preliminary research submitted to the inquiry suggested that approximately fifty family members and colleagues of individuals impacted by the leak had been killed.

A superinjunction about the breach was enacted in August 2023 and restricted any information about it from public disclosure until July 2025.

Safety Measures

Due to legal constraints, Person A and the non-governmental organization she was working with advised Afghan families they were working with that they had “concerns that certain devices had been compromised”.

“Our suggestion was that they moved when possible and altered their mobile numbers. These represented the two main details that, if authorities obtained these details, would lead to their location being found,” the source testified.

Disputed Conclusions

The whistleblower contested that an official review carried out by a former official had been mistaken to conclude that the obtaining of the dataset by militant forces was “unlikely to substantially change present danger”.

“The important fact is that these individuals are not standing up to the Taliban; they are in hiding. All concerns relate to their previous employment.”

Person A described terrible abuse suffered by affected individuals, including electrocution, simulated drowning, and severe beatings.

“Instances include four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to try to get households to reveal locations,” the whistleblower revealed.