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A confidential source has told the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK failed to secure classified equipment allowing Afghanistan's rulers to locate local individuals that had served with international military.

Information Leak Puts Numerous in Danger

Person A, identified as Person A, explained that Afghans affected by the information breach were told to relocate and alter their contact details to avoid detection from the Taliban.

Lawmakers are investigating official handling of a massive leak of personal details involving almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had asked to come to the United Kingdom to flee militant rule.

Data Disclosure Was Discovered

A data file containing private information, including identities, addresses and in some cases household data, was accidentally leaked by a staff member stationed at special operations center in last year.

The leak came to light months later, when the names of nine people who had applied to move to the UK surfaced on social media.

Militant Technology

“There seems to be a false assumption that militant forces do not have the same sort of facilities that we have,” she told the committee.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they possess it. If they have your phone number, they can trace your precise location. This is exactly how specialized teams did.”

During testimony about if militant forces had access to necessary encryption, the source stated: “They've got everything.”

Consequences of the Information Leak

Initial findings presented to the inquiry estimated that at least 49 relatives and associates of individuals impacted by the incident had been killed.

A legal restriction regarding the breach was enacted in late 2023 and blocked all details about it from media reporting until mid-2025.

Safety Measures

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

“Our suggestion was that they change residence when possible and changed their mobile numbers. Those were the crucial data that, should militant forces acquired such data, would result in identification and capture,” the source testified.

Contested Findings

The source contested that government assessment carried out by an ex-government employee had been incorrect to conclude that the acquisition of the information by the Taliban was “minimally impact current risk levels”.

“The thing to remember is that these Afghans are not confronting the Taliban; they live secretly. The primary issue involves former occupations.”

The source explained terrible violence endured by at-risk Afghans, comprising electrocution, simulated drowning, and violent assaults.

“There are cases of toddlers who have had their arms broken to try to get the family to say where someone is,” the whistleblower revealed.