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An informant has disclosed an official investigation that the UK left behind sensitive technology permitting the militant group to locate Afghans who worked with western forces.

Information Leak Puts Numerous in Danger

The whistleblower, known as Person A, explained that Afghans affected by the information breach were instructed to move homes and switch their contact details to avoid detection from militant forces.

MPs are looking into official handling of a catastrophic disclosure of private information affecting almost nineteen thousand individuals who had asked to come to Britain to escape militant rule.

The Information Breach Happened

A spreadsheet including private information, such as names, contact details and occasionally household data, was mistakenly released by a worker employed at UK special forces headquarters in February 2022.

The leak came to light only in August 2023, when the names of multiple applicants who had applied to relocate to Britain appeared on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is this misconception that militant forces lack the same sort of facilities that western nations possess,” she told the committee.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they possess it. Once they acquire a contact number, they can locate your precise location. This is exactly how the unit achieved.”

During testimony about if militant forces had access to advanced decryption, the source declared: “They have complete capability.”

Consequences of the Data Breach

Early investigations presented to the investigation suggested that no fewer than forty-nine relatives and co-workers of people concerned by the incident had been executed.

A superinjunction concerning the leak was put in force in late 2023 and prevented relevant facts regarding the matter from public disclosure until July 2025.

Protective Actions

Given injunction limitations, the whistleblower and the aid group she collaborated with told affected households they were assisting that they had “concerns that certain devices had been intercepted”.

“Our suggestion was that they moved if they could and altered their phone numbers. That constituted the two main details that, if the Taliban had access to these details, would cause their location being found,” she said.

Disputed Conclusions

Person A contested that an official review performed by a former official had been mistaken to state that the possession of the records by militant forces was “unlikely to substantially change present danger”.

“The crucial point is that these Afghans are not confronting militant forces; they remain concealed. Everything boils down to former occupations.”

The source explained horrific treatment endured by affected individuals, including electrocution, interrogation techniques, and physical abuse.

“There are cases of young kids who have had limbs fractured to pressure relatives to disclose hiding places,” she testified.