Minister grilled on plight of Afghan special forces paid by Britain

Defence minister James Heappey was grilled by MPs on Monday over the plight of the Afghanspecial forces units who served shoulder-to-shoulder with British troops, but who have been abandoned by the UK.

The Independent revealed in a joint investigation that members of two elite units, known as the Triples, had been denied sanctuary in the UK despite being trained and paid by the UK government.

Labour’s shadow security minister Dan Jarvis, who served in Afghanistan, quizzed Mr Heappey on why the Afghan commandos were being denied help if they had been effectively employed by the British.

He asked Mr Heappey in the Commons: “There has been some debate about the extent to which the Triples were paid directly by UK forces. I know that that was the case, does the minister accept that?”

Mr Heappey, who has in the past played down the Triples’ connections to the British forces, said there was “a difference in opinion between the advice that I receive from officials and the advice that the honorable gentleman sets out”. He invited the Labour shadow minister to meet civil servants to discuss the topic and “reach some truth”.

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In a joint investigation with newsroom Lighthouse Reports and Sky News, The Independent revealed that the two Triples units - officially called Commando Force 333 (CF333) and Afghan Territorial Force 444 (ATF444) - had served in such close partnerhip with the British that they received a salary directly from the UK government, with many of them paid right up until days before the fall of Kabul.

Members of both units initially received a monthly salary from the British government, paid in cash. A few years after they were set up in the early 2000s, the units moved to an Afghan government structure.

At this point, soldiers started received an official Afghan government salary that was paid into bank accounts, as well as their British salary. This later changed so that British money was paid as a “top-up” depending on service. This has been confirmed by Afghan commandos and by their British advisers.

A document that appears to be a payslip signed by a “UK Rep” was also published as part of the joint investigation.

When grilled on why so many Afghans who served directly alongside British forces have been denied relocation, Mr Heappey said that “there has to be limits on the UK schemes”.

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He continued: “No country has made an open offer to those who served in the Afghan security forces. All countries are focused on those who worked directly with that country.

“Clearly it’s a matter for debate as to what that direct service looks like.”

Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Sir Julian Lewis MP, pressed the defence minister, saying: “Surely special consideration should be given to Afghan members of the special forces, who even if they did not work directly for us, worked extremely closely with us?”

He asked how many of these soldiers were “under constant threat to their lives and ought to be rescued?”

Mr Heappey replied that a number of 4-500 “is circulated”, but that the government does not know because they “don’t have the employment records of those units”.

Campaigners have separately estimated that there are around 2,000 members of the Triples who have been left behind - but that not all of them would opt for relocation to the UK.