UK minister will personally review Afghan interpreters’ settlement claims

Ben Wallace seeks to reassure civilians who fear Taliban reprisals after Nato withdrawal

Afghan security officials stand guard at a checkpoint in Herat, Afghanistan. The Taliban are making gains in the country. EPA

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace will personally consider claims by Afghan interpreters who want to settle in Britain after helping its troops fight the Taliban.

Mr Wallace sought to reassure civilians in Afghanistan amid mounting pressure on Nato members to protect their staff in the country from reprisals.

He said the admissions process had been streamlined to help as many people as possible but that checks were needed to confirm identities.

Afghans who quit their roles with the British military or were dismissed for minor offences may still apply.

“Our scheme is open-ended and will not end when we leave. I will personally review contentious claims as Defence Secretary,” Mr Wallace said.

“Decisions are based on the threat to the civilians’ life, their eligibility and the security of UK citizens.”

About 3,000 interpreters and their families are being resettled in the UK but critics say thousands more should be eligible for the initiative.

A group of former British officers wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying that only those who constituted a national security threat should be excluded.

Last week, the US took in its first batch of Afghan citizens at a base in Virginia, and Germany said it would offer more financial help to stranded civilians.

Britain is following Washington’s lead by withdrawing the last of its troops from Afghanistan this year after a 20-year campaign.

One Afghan interpreter who spoke to the BBC's Today programme on Tuesday said he had changed address three times as the Taliban had gained ground.

“My own house, which I left yesterday, it has been captured by the Taliban and they are living there, and they were asking for me,” he said.

“They are looking house to house to find the people who worked for Nato.”

The Nato withdrawal has raised fears that the Taliban will swiftly retake power in Afghanistan, triggering a humanitarian crisis.

British military chiefs who spoke to The National raised concerns that terrorist groups could flourish in Afghanistan as Al Qaeda did before 9/11.

The UK sent more than 150,000 military personnel to Afghanistan, of whom 454 were killed.