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A confidential source has told the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities left behind confidential equipment permitting the Taliban to locate Afghans who worked with allied troops.

Information Leak Puts Numerous at Risk

The source, known as Person A, explained that individuals impacted by the data leak were instructed to relocate and change their contact details to protect themselves from the Taliban.

Lawmakers are looking into the Conservative government's management of a catastrophic leak of personal details concerning almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had applied to come to the UK to avoid militant rule.

How the Leak Was Discovered

A data file containing their personal data, comprising names, phone numbers and occasionally household data, was mistakenly released by a worker stationed at special operations center in last year.

The leak came to light in late 2023, when the names of several individuals who had sought to relocate to the UK were posted on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is a false assumption that Afghan rulers do not have comparable resources that western nations possess,” she told lawmakers.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Should they obtain mobile details, they are able to track you down to within metres. That's precisely what specialized teams accomplished.”

Under inquiry about whether the Taliban owned advanced decryption, Person A stated: “They have complete capability.”

Aftermath of the Data Breach

Preliminary research presented to the inquiry indicated that at least 49 kin and associates of individuals impacted by the breach had been murdered.

A legal restriction about the leak was implemented in late 2023 and prevented relevant facts concerning it from public disclosure until July 2025.

Security Recommendations

Because she was restricted, Person A and the non-governmental organization she collaborated with told affected households they were working with that they had “concerns that certain devices had been intercepted”.

“We recommended that they relocate where feasible and changed their contact details. That constituted the crucial data that, if the Taliban acquired such data, would result in their location being found,” she said.

Contested Findings

Person A argued that an official review conducted by a former official had been wrong to conclude that the obtaining of the dataset by the Taliban was “not significantly alter present danger”.

“The crucial point is that these individuals are in hiding from the Taliban; they are in hiding. All concerns relate to their previous employment.”

Person A described disturbing abuse suffered by concerned people, including electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and violent assaults.

“There are cases of young kids who have had their arms broken to force households to say where someone is,” she testified.