Afghan interpreters ‘should be allowed to find safety in Britain’
DANGEROUSLY exposed Afghan interpreters should be allowed into Britain, according to a damning report by watchdog MPs.
A Government scheme to safeguard those facing reprisals from the Taliban for working with British forces had failed, it said.
It added that no Afghan civilian, not even any of the dozens of interpreters, has been brought to safety in the UK under the plan.
The Commons Defence Committee said that the Intimidation Scheme seemed to go to considerable lengths to stop at-risk Afghan interpreters and other locally employed civilians – known as LECs – finding a safe haven.
Bravery
An alternative Redundancy Scheme for some of those who lost jobs in 2012 when the UK announced its troop withdrawal plans has been much more generous, re-homing more than 1,000 frontline LECs and family members in Britain.
The MPs want the Government to consider more help for those who are not qualifying under this scheme’s tight criteria.
Defence Committee chairman Dr Julian Lewis said: “This is not only a matter of honour. How we treat our former interpreters and local employees, many of whom served with great bravery, will send a message to the people we would want to employ in future campaigns.”
The report called for a more sympathetic approach to about 7,000 civilians who risked their lives and face reprisals by Taliban and Islamic State fanatics.
Some have even turned to people smugglers to escape.
The Intimidation Scheme, established in 2010, is open to all current or former LECs who worked for any UK government department from 2001 onwards.
An Intimidation Investigation Unit in the capital city of Kabul answers requests for help, referring the hardest cases to London.
People at low risk get security advice such as changing phone numbers or varying routes of travel. Those at higher risk can get money for the cost of moving elsewhere in Afghanistan.
Only the most serious cases are considered for relocation to the UK but this seemed to be treated “as an absolutely last resort”.
Just one person had been assessed as being in enough danger to qualify but he failed security vetting and accepted an alternative measure, the MPs said.
Under an earlier version of the scheme, before the unit was established, only one LEC moved to the UK.
They said it was “impossible to reconcile” it with the much more generous Redundancy Scheme which has brought 450 LECs plus 700 family members to the UK.
Cases include that of Mohammad Hares, 27, who was an interpreter in Helmand Province. He came to Britain after getting a five-year visa in 2015. He was told renewal will cost £2,389 each for him and his wife plus another £900 for their ninemonth-old daughter.
Hafizzulah Husseinkhel, 27, who served on the frontline, fled in 2014 after Taliban death threats but is not eligible for a resettlement package because it was only available to staff in post at the time.
The Ministry of Defence said: “We recognise the vital role interpreters and local staff played and are the only nation with a permanent expert team in Kabul to investigate claims. We provide tailored security advice and support to individuals.”