Whistleblower 'vindicated' as tribunal finds she was unfairly dismissed by Foreign Office

A civil servant who helped expose the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan including Boris Johnson's involvement in a decision to evacuate a pet charity from Kabul has won her case for unfair dismissal against the government in a legal first.

- Matthew Weaver

An employment panel of three judges unanimously found the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) unfairly dismissed Josie Stewart in 2021 after she leaked information in the public interest.

Stewart lost her job after her security clearance was removed when it emerged she had told the BBC about failures in the withdrawal from Kabul and had leaked emails suggesting that Johnson prioritised staff from the animal charity Nowzad for evacuation over more deserving cases.

At a hearing last May, Ben Collins KC, counsel for the FCDO, argued that the right to whistleblow did not extend to giving security clearance to those with a record of leaking. But Stewart's barrister, Gavin Millar KC, said if the FCDO's argument succeeded it would "drive a coach and horses through" the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (Pida) aimed at protecting whistleblowers.