uncomfortable” about the government’s response to the crisis and had been “trying to get the truth out”. She said Marshall’s dossier had “tipped the balance”.Josie Stewart, a former senior official at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), has spoken out about her experience of the government’s chaotic response to the fall of Kabul. In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Stewart reveals the politicisation of the civil service that has taken place since the Boris Johnson era. Her case will set a precedent for how the courts handle similar ones in the future, clarifying whether whistleblowers can avoid dismissal if they have disclosed sensitive information in “exceptionally serious circumstances”. Stewart claims that the government’s Afghan withdrawal strategy was shaped by political concerns back home, with ministers more focused on media coverage and “the political fallout” than saving lives. She also suggests that the government’s failure to have a plan for evacuating Afghan nationals who had helped the British was due to a lack of intent to do so, and only came into play because the British public cared about the issue. Stewart’s case will be a test of legal protections for whistleblowers and will establish a precedent for how the courts handle similar ones in the future.
Source: www.theguardian.com