'Debt of honour' plea by Jamie Stone over Afghan interpreters
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North MP Jamie Stone is urging the UK government to begin airlifts for Afghan interpreters, even if their application has not been fully processed, as they are owed "a debt of honour".
This, says, would ensure their safety and mirror the US airlift programme as Taliban fighters continue to make major advances across the country.
Mr Stone, the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, claimed that many interpreters were being left "high and dry in their hour of need" following the withdrawal of NATO forces.
He was speaking in his capacity as Lib Dem defence spokesperson.
Mr Stone pointed out that President Biden's administration has implemented an airlift scheme to bring to safety those interpreters and other local support staff who helped US troops. Afghanis whose applications are still being processed are permitted to board such flights.
Now, Lib Dems have called for “urgent action” to save the lives of Afghan interpreters who are currently unable to travel to the UK.
Mr Stone has written to defence secretary Ben Wallace urging the UK government to adopt the same approach, as well as widening eligibility criteria for the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme.
“Afghan interpreters helped our troops, yet in their hour of need the UK government is leaving many of them high and dry," he said. "It is utterly shameful. These brave men and women risked their lives to enable our armed forces to do their jobs.
“We owe them a debt of honour. A failure to fulfil that would be a stain on our nation’s reputation, yet it is the course of action which this government appears to insist on taking.
“Now is the time for urgent action. The situation on the ground in Afghanistan is dire, and continues to deteriorate with every passing day as the Taliban gains ground.
"Afghan interpreters are fearing for their lives. How can we fail to offer a liferaft to those who helped us? The UK government must urgently expand relocation schemes so more interpreters are eligible, and initiate a programme of airlifts so those in danger have a route to safety.”
ARAP came into effect in April this year and offers the relocation of current and former local staff in Afghanistan, including interpreters and their immediate families.
In a joint letter last week, defence secretary Ben Wallace and home secretary Priti Patel insisted there had been "considerable misreporting" of the issue.
They said: "We owe a huge debt of gratitude to interpreters and other staff who risked their lives working alongside UK forces in Afghanistan.
"There has been considerable misreporting of the scheme in the media, feeding the impression the government is not supporting our former and current Afghan staff. This could not be further from the truth and since the US announced its withdrawal we have been at the forefront of nations relocating people.
"As announced on May 31, we have greatly expanded and accelerated the ARAP in parallel with the military withdrawal to bring as many people as possible to the UK as quickly as possible, prioritising within the programme all those who are judged to be at most serious risk."
