This is the Guardian.

Today, why a former Uber executive came forward with a huge leak from the company, in his own words.

It's about 9 in the morning, on a clear spring day in May. I mean the French countryside, driving through small towns and past

opinions, discovering that breakfast radio really sucks whatever language it's in. I've got a set of instructions for an address where I've got to meet someone.

It's in a disappearing message just to make sure the location stays secret, which sounds like overkill, but the person I'm going to meet is trying to lay low.

It's a whistleblower, a former executive from one of the largest tech companies in the world. Yesterday, we told you about an unprecedented leak of confidential files, revealing how Uber broke laws, exploited violence against drivers, and secretly lobbied governments as it was aggressively growing around the world.

The reason we know any of this is because earlier this year someone made contact with the Guardian, a guy who would sat with governments in Europe, Russia, Africa, and the Middle East, persuading them to rewrite their laws in Uber's favor.

And now, he wanted to talk about it. He had documents, tens of thousands of emails, internal memos, text messages from his time at the company, and he felt like the public needed to see them.

Hello. How's it going?

This is what former senior executive Mark McGann saw inside Uber, and why he's coming forward now to tell the world about it.

From the Guardian, a Michael Saafing. Today in focus, the Uber Files Part 2, the whistleblower.

Do you remember the first time you used an Uber?

I do. It was before advising the company. It was before joining the company.

What did you think about it? I thought it was cool.

You know, back in the days, the drivers were extremely enthusiastic. It really felt like you had your own private driver. It was a very enjoyable experience.

Mark McGann is an insider. He's moved for decades in the highest circles of business and government. He's been a regular at Davos.

If you focus just on the quarterly numbers.

He's been gathering of the world's richest and most powerful people.

He's met Tony Blair and Emmanuel Macron on his bookshelf as a picture of him with the former Israeli president, Shimon Perez.

He is, or was, until recently, a lobbyist. Helping to shape laws in favor of some of the world's biggest tech firms.

And getting paid really well for it. And meeting Mark, I can see why he was good at his job.

He's really charming. He looks right at you. He asks questions, remembers what you tell him and brings it up later.

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