A Foreign Office whistleblower has won a case for unfair dismissal over her disclosures to the BBC about the UK evacuation from Afghanistan.
Josie Stewart revealed details of the chaotic August 2021 withdrawal from Kabul and emails which suggested then Prime Minister Boris Johnson's had been involved in the evacuation of a pet charity.
She had her security clearance revoked and lost her job after a BBC journalist accidentally identified her as a confidential source on social media.
An employment tribunal, chaired by Judge Andrew Glennie, found she had leaked the information in the public interest and had been unfairly dismissed.
Lawyers for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said Ms Stewart's bosses had been forced to sack her because her security clearance had been revoked and there were no other suitable roles for her.
But Ms Stewart's barrister, Gavin Millar KC, said that if their argument had succeeded it would have driven "a coach and horses through" the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (Pida) aimed at protecting whistleblowers.
In a judgement issued on Tuesday, the employment tribunal said Ms Stewart had been justified in going to the media on a clear matter of public interest.
"The tribunal considered that it was reasonable for the claimant [Stewart] to go to the UK's public service broadcaster when relevant information and/or allegations had already been put into the public domain … and government ministers were publicly disputing them."
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