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We have a duty to help resettle former Afghan special forces, says minister

Johnny Mercer said he will do everything he can to help those eligible to relocate to the UK.

Richard Wheeler
Wednesday 13 December 2023 10:26 EST
Veterans minister Johnny Mercer said some former special forces will not be eligible for relocation (PA)
Veterans minister Johnny Mercer said some former special forces will not be eligible for relocation (PA) (PA Archive)

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The veterans minister has pledged to do everything he can to help former Afghan special forces resettle in the UK, amid concerns they face death at the hands of the Taliban.

Johnny Mercer said the ā€œvast majorityā€ of the two special forces units, known as the Triples, are likely to meet the criteria for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap).

He added if they are eligible and ā€œdeserve to be in the United Kingdomā€ then he will do ā€œeverything I can to get them hereā€ after previously noting the Government has a ā€œdutyā€ to those individuals.

The minister will know very well, as do I, that the Triples were recruited by the UK, they were led by the UK, they were paid by the UK. By design they served shoulder-to-shoulder alongside us. So we owe them a debt of gratitude and this is a matter of honour

Dan Jarvis, Labour MP

MPs warned that the elite veterans, who fought alongside UK forces, are threatened with deportation back to their Taliban-controlled home country from Pakistan.

On Monday, armed forces minister James Heappey said the CF333 and ATF444 taskforces ā€“ set up to counter drug trafficking and organised crime ā€“ were Afghan-led and reported into the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs.

He said they were not automatically in scope for relocation under Arap and ā€œcertain membersā€ of the Triples ā€œwill not be eligible for relocationā€, adding each application was assessed on a case-by-case basis.

On Wednesday, Mr Mercer said Mr Heappey was correct to say being in a taskforce ā€œdoes not automatically entitle youā€ to be in the UK as there may be ā€œvery well-founded reasons as to why that individual does then not settle into accommodation in the UK through many different national security reasonsā€.

Mr Mercer told the House of Commons: ā€œI also am clear where that criteria on the Arap entitlement sits, Iā€™m clear that the vast majority of these (CF333 and ATF444) operators should fit within that criteria.

ā€œAnd if they meet that criteria and they deserve to be in the United Kingdom then I will do everything I can to get them here.

ā€œThis is a Government effort, itā€™s not a single-led issue, this is a cross-Government issue between Home Office, DLUHC (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities), defence, Iā€™ve been asked to oversee it by the Prime Minister and thatā€™s what Iā€™m doing.ā€

Whilst I recognise the concern, he will know that I will not oversee a scheme that does not oversee its duty to those ā€“ particularly those in the (CF333 and ATF444) taskforces ā€“ who he and I served alongside in Afghanistan

Veterans minister Jonny Mercer

Labourā€™s Dan Jarvis, an army veteran who also served in Afghanistan, earlier told Mr Mercer: ā€œThe minister will know very well, as do I, that the Triples were recruited by the UK, they were led by the UK, they were paid by the UK.

ā€œBy design they served shoulder-to-shoulder alongside us. So we owe them a debt of gratitude and this is a matter of honour.

ā€œSo I wonder if the minister shares my concern that based on what the minister for the armed forces said on Monday, the Arap criteria doesnā€™t guarantee qualification for the Triples?

ā€œHeā€™ll share my concern, I know, that many have already been rejected, some undoubtedly already are dead.

ā€œWhat more can be done to support the Triples?ā€

Mr Mercer replied: ā€œI know that he commanded one of these units in a similar time to when I was in Afghanistan. He has a deep, intimate knowledge of how these were set up, paid for and funded.ā€

He added ā€œwe have a duty to these individualsā€, before saying: ā€œWhilst technically the minister for the armed forces was right in that they were led and had direct command chains into the Afghan government, there is going to be no attempt whatsoever from this Government to close down avenues for those who served (CF333 and ATF444) who I know he personally trained and fought alongside.

ā€œWhilst I recognise the concern, he will know that I will not oversee a scheme that does not oversee its duty to those ā€“ particularly those in the (CF333 and ATF444) taskforces ā€“ who he and I served alongside in Afghanistan.ā€

Elsewhere, the Ministry of Defence was fined Ā£350,000 for an ā€œegregiousā€ data breach that exposed the personal information of Afghan nationals seeking to flee to the UK after the Taliban takeover.

Details belonging to 265 people were mistakenly copied in to emails sent by the Government, meaning they could be seen by all recipients, the Information Commissionerā€™s Office (ICO) found.

This could have led to a ā€œthreat to lifeā€ if the data disclosed fell into the hands of the Taliban, the data watchdog said.

In response to one email, two people ā€œreplied allā€ with one providing their location to the entire distribution list, which was made up of Afghan citizens eligible for evacuation, according to the ICO.

Under data protection law, organisations should have measures in place to avoid disclosing personal information, and the watchdog advises the use of bulk email services or mail merge to protect details sent electronically.

An MoD spokesperson said: ā€œWe fully acknowledge todayā€™s ruling and apologise to those affected.

ā€œWe have introduced a number of measures to act on the ICOā€™s recommendations and will share further details on these measures in due course.ā€

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