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An informant has told an official investigation that British authorities left behind sensitive equipment permitting the militant group to locate local individuals who collaborated with western forces.

Information Leak Puts Thousands in Danger

The whistleblower, known as Person A, stated that people concerned by the information breach were advised to change residences and switch their contact details to protect themselves from the Taliban.

Lawmakers are currently examining the UK government's handling of a serious leak of private information affecting almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had asked to relocate to the UK to avoid the Taliban.

Data Disclosure Happened

A data file including their personal data, such as identities, contact details and in some cases family information, was inadvertently disclosed by a staff member stationed at special operations center in early 2022.

The incident came to light months later, when the names of several individuals who had applied to relocate to Britain were posted on Facebook.

Regime's Resources

Many believe there's a false assumption that militant forces do not have similar capabilities that we have,” Person A informed lawmakers.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Should they obtain mobile details, they are able to track your precise location. This is exactly how the unit achieved.”

When questioned about whether the Taliban owned advanced decryption, the whistleblower confirmed: “They have complete capability.”

Impact of the Security Lapse

Initial findings submitted to the inquiry estimated that approximately fifty family members and co-workers of people concerned by the leak had been executed.

A legal restriction about the incident was enacted in late 2023 and restricted all details regarding the matter from media reporting until July 2025.

Protective Actions

Due to legal constraints, the whistleblower and the non-governmental organization she collaborated with informed affected households they were working with that they had “suspicions that mobile communications had been intercepted”.

“We recommended that they change residence where feasible and changed their mobile numbers. These represented the two main details that, should militant forces obtained this information, would cause their location being found,” she said.

Challenged Assessments

The whistleblower contested that an official review performed by a former official had been mistaken to state that the obtaining of the information by militant forces was “minimally impact current risk levels”.

“The crucial point is that these Afghans are not confronting the Taliban; they remain concealed. The primary issue involves former occupations.”

She detailed disturbing treatment suffered by affected individuals, involving electrocution, waterboarding, and physical abuse.

“There are cases of four-year-old children who have had limbs fractured to force the family to say where someone is,” she testified.