Fewer than 100 brave interpreters from Afghan War resettled in UK despite Taliban threats
Fewer than 100 local interpreters who bravely worked with British forces during the 13-year-long Afghanistan War have been resettled in the UK - despite a Government pledge to offer safety to hundreds at risk from Taliban attacks.
Campaigners are calling on the Government to do more for Afghan staff who worked with UK armed forces, after it was revealed just 77 Afghan interpreters have resettled in Britain.
Fewer than one-in-ten of the local Afghan staff working alongside British troops have moved to the UK, with officials facing criticism that they are dragging their feet on the issue.
In 2012, David Cameron promised that half of the estimated 1,200 Afghan staff who worked with British soldiers in Helmand Province would be welcomed to the UK.
In a fresh admission by the Ministry of Defence, Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois has now confirmed a mere 77 had settled in Britain.
He said a total of 395 locally employed staff who worked alongside British troops in Afghanistan had applied for relocation to the UK through the Government scheme.
The minister added that the MoD expected “relocations to continue at a rate of around 30 per month”.
An at-times emotional campaign to move the Afghan interpreters and their families out of the war-torn country gained momentum when a petition was taken to Downing Street in 2013.
The great-grandson of Winston Churchill, Alexander Perkins, led a crusade that attracted almost 100,000 signatures, calling for the Prime Minister to honour the sacrifice of the Afghan workers.
The interpreters took great risks to help us, putting not only their lives but the lives of their families in danger of Taliban reprisals - but now the UK Government has turned its back on the interpreters
“The interpreters took great risks to help us, putting not only their lives but the lives of their families in danger of Taliban reprisals - but now the UK Government has turned its back on the interpreters,” he said at the time.
One such interpreter claimed this week he was still living under “threat” in Afghanistan despite serving for three years with British forces.
Campaigners want all Afghan staff treated equally, claiming those left behind face “almost certain death”.
The MoD said "many thousands" of Afghans had worked for the UK in some capacity since the 2001 invasion, though only an estimated 600 former Afghan staff members will be eligible to apply to move to the UK.
The Government is clear that its Afghan redundancy programme offers interpreters a financial package, retraining or the chance to relocate to the UK.
However only those interpreters who were still serving with British forces in Helmand Province in December 2012, and were employed for more than 12 months, are given the option of moving to the UK.
Local staff and their families are kept in Afghanistan while medical checks, Afghan document verifications, UK security screening, visa processing, and local authority placement takes place.
An MoD spokesman told Express.co.uk: “We owe a great debt to local civilian staff and interpreters who worked for the UK and played a very important part in our efforts towards a more secure, stable and prosperous Afghanistan.
“We are committed to delivering generous support that properly reflects their work and the risks involved, especially to patrol interpreters and translators who worked alongside us in the most challenging and dangerous roles.”
An additional 120 local staff are still employed with the British Army, the MoD added.
Hundreds of Afghan interpreters in the capital Kabul have also reportedly approached British officials complaining of threats from Taliban militants.
According to reports in The Times, the vast majority were told simply to change their phone number and use a different route to and from work.
