Investigation after contact details of Afghan staff left at British embassy

AFGHANISTAN-CONFLICT
The newspaper called the numbers listed and found some of the staff had been evacuated to the UK but others were left behind
AFP via Getty Images

MPs are to investigate how sensitive documents identifying Afghan workers and job applicants were left at the abandoned British diplomatic mission in Kabul.

A journalist from The Times found the papers with contact details of seven Afghans on Tuesday on a tour through the city’s abandoned diplomatic quarter while accompanied by a Taliban patrol.

The documents included the name and address of a senior embassy member, other staff members and their contact details, and the CVs and addresses of applicants for jobs as interpreters despite the threat of potential Taliban or IS reprisals against those who worked with Western countries.

The newspaper called the numbers listed and found some of the staff had been evacuated to the UK but others were left behind. The fate of at least two applicants remains unknown.

The Foreign Office admitted the apparent error but insisted that staff had tried to destroy sensitive material before leaving.

“We have worked tirelessly to secure the safety of those who worked for us,” it said.

Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said it would investigate.

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