Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Jul 21, 2025

UK Afghanistan whistleblower slams govt over hearing ‘secrecy’

UK Afghanistan whistleblower slams govt over hearing ‘secrecy’

A whistleblower in the UK who was sacked after drawing attention to the failures of the Afghanistan withdrawal has criticized attempts by the government to make her legal challenge private, The Guardian reported on Saturday.
Josie Stewart, a former senior official of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, was sacked after providing the BBC with anonymous comments criticizing the government’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021.

She launched a legal challenge over the sacking, taking her case to an employment tribunal in an attempt to test the legal protection of whistleblowers in Britain.

However, the government is seeking to hold the case in private based on national security concerns, with Stewart and her lawyers earlier this week attending a preliminary hearing to decide the status of the legal challenge, set for September.

Stewart, using the CrowdJustice website that crowdfunds legal action, said: “This hearing was listed in order to hear and decide upon (the) government’s rule 94 (national security proceedings) application.

“As the hearing was held in private, frustratingly I am not able to share anything that was said. A Guardian reporter whom I met at reception (and) who had turned up to cover the hearing, was turned away.

“What I can say is that we will receive the judge’s decision and reasons on May 18. Also, that I found today intense, emotional, infuriating and motivating. And that my legal team are truly incredible: It was a privilege to witness them at work.

“There are truly important issues at stake, which my lawyers are fighting not only on my behalf. They deserve my and our support.”

Legal sources told The Guardian that the government was attempting to use rule 94 to curtail media coverage of the case over fears that Stewart’s commentary could embarrass the FCDO.

The former official has said that her seven years at the FCDO was spent, together with colleagues, protecting ministers who wanted to “look good.”

Stewart now works for the anti-corruption nonprofit Transparency International.

She told The Guardian earlier this year: “If the law is not tested and used then I don’t know how much it actually means, as potential whistleblowers don’t know which side of the line it is going to fall.

“Is what they’re going to do likely to be legally protected or not? If they don’t know then I’m not sure how meaningful the fact the law exists is.”

In response to the latest developments in the case, an FCDO spokesperson said: “We are rightly proud of our staff who worked tirelessly to evacuate more than 15,000 people from Afghanistan within a fortnight.

“This was the biggest mission of its kind in generations and the second-largest evacuation carried out by any country.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
×