Hundreds of ex-special forces to be allowed in UK

The federal government says it’s permitting some “eligible” Afghan particular forces troopers who fought alongside the British navy to resettle within the UK, after they had been beforehand rejected.

Beneath the earlier authorities, about 2,000 Afghans who served with specialist items – recognized on the “Triples” – had been denied permission to relocate to the UK after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

Armed forces minister Luke Pollard instructed the Home of Commons a assessment had now discovered some functions had been wrongly turned down.

Pollard stated there was no proof of “malicious intent” within the preliminary decision-making course of, as a substitute blaming poor record-keeping for any errors.

The so-called “Triples” had been elite items of Afghan troopers arrange, funded and run by the UK.

On Monday, Pollard stated the federal government has thus far overturned 25% of the rejections.

He stated a assessment had discovered new proof that among the Afghan troopers had been straight paid by the UK authorities, which means they had been eligible for resettlement – and this proof had been “missed” throughout the preliminary resettlement functions.

These errors had been attributable to a “failure to entry and share the appropriate digital data, and challenges with data flows throughout departmental traces”, he stated.

He criticised the earlier authorities for a “essential failure” in finding the right paperwork.

The defence minister stated the federal government had reviewed lots of the instances as a matter of urgency as a result of lots of the Afghan troops “stay in danger” beneath Taliban rule.

A number of the Triples are reported to have been focused and killed by the Taliban.

The assessment into the rejected functions was introduced by the earlier Conservative authorities in February, after former armed forces minister James Heappey stated the decision-making course of behind some rejections had not been “strong”.

Pollard stated the assessment’s findings didn’t imply that every one Triples could be eligible for relocation, including officers had been nonetheless re-assessing among the functions.

Shadow veterans minister Andrew Bowie welcomed the continuation of the assessment.

He stated the Conservatives needed the right choices made on the “crucial and extremely delicate functions as speedily and pretty as potential”.