Afghan Interpreters Can Come To UK In Rethink
In an apparent change of heart, hundreds of Afghan interpreters used by British forces will be given visas and help relocating.
Wednesday 22 May 2013 01:32, UK
Around 600 Afghan interpreters are to be offered the chance to settle in Britain after an apparent rethink by the Government.
About half the staff working with UK forces are expected to be granted visas in recognition of risks to their personal safety.
The proposals could see all interpreters who have been in the job more than 12 months and put themselves in physical danger offered a resettlement package.
They will need to have worked between December 2012 and December 2014, when troops are due to leave, to be eligible.
They could be offered a five-year visa for themselves and their family, with help relocating and finding accommodation and work in the UK.
Interpreters who do not meet the criteria - potentially due to lack of continuous service or low personal risk - would be given a five-year training and education package with the Afghan security forces on existing security force salaries.
Dave Garratt, chief executive of Refugee Action, said: "We welcome today's decision to offer protection to Afghan interpreters who put their lives on the line to support the British forces.
"This move now puts the UK in step with other Nato countries who have granted their interpreters the right to asylum."
The move comes despite Prime Minister David Cameron previously suggesting most Afghan interpreters should stay on in their country to help rebuild it after years of conflict.
Liberal Democrats had pushed for a similar approach to that taken with Iraqi interpreters.
Rosa Curling, a human rights solicitor representing two interpreters, said her clients were "delighted".
But she voiced concerns that two key groups seemed to have been excluded by the Government's offer: Kabul-based spokesmen, "who have received death threats because of the high-risk nature of their work", and interpreters working for MI6.