A whistleblower who was sacked for highlighting Britain’s chaotic response to the fall of Kabul has expressed frustration at government attempts to have her legal challenge against her dismissal held in private.
Josie Stewart, a senior official, was fired from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for giving an anonymous interview to the BBC about the failures in the handling of the Afghan withdrawal.
The Guardian revealed she is taking her treatment to employment tribunal to test legal protections for whistleblowers amid concerns there is insufficient protection for civil servants who disclose sensitive information in the public interest.
But the government is trying to ensure that all or part of these proceedings are held in private on national security grounds, under rule 94 of the employment tribunal rules.
Her case is due to be heard in September, but this week Stewart and her lawyers attended a preliminary hearing before a judge, Andrew Glennie, to decide whether the full hearing would be heard in private.
The preliminary hearing was held in private on Wednesday. The Guardian tried to attend but was refused entry.
In an update to her supporters on the CrowdJustice website, Stewart said the proceedings were “infuriating” in part because she could not disclose details of what was said.
She wrote: “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...
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