Suspect on 'no-fly' list flown to UK in Afghanistan evacuation

Person arrived in Birmingham on British military flight but government says they are 'no longer of interest'

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  People carry the national flag as they take part in an anti-Taliban protest held during Afghanistan's Independence Day, in Kabul, on August 19. Reuters

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  Hundreds of protesters, including women, took to the streets in Kabul. Reuters

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  Protesters chanted slogans including “Our flag, our identity”. AFP

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  The banner has become a symbol of defiance against the Taliban. Photo by Muhammad Imran

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  A motorcyclist in Kabul. AFP

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  A procession of cars and people carrying Afghan flags makes its way through the streets. AFP

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  A procession of cars and people carrying Afghan flags makes its way through the streets. Reuters

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  People carrying the national flag march in Kabul. Reuters

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  Afghans pass by a poster of President Ashraf Ghani, who has fled the country. EPA

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  Afghans celebrate the 102nd Independence Day of Afghanistan with the national flag in Kabul. AFP

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  A Taliban fighter watches as people take part in a protest. Photo by Muhammad Imran

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The UK military flew a person on a “no-fly” list from Afghanistan to Britain as part of the evacuation, raising concerns over security.

The government said they are no longer considered a security threat.

The incident raised questions about how the person was able to board the flight in the first place.

Five people on France’s no-fly list have also been able to arrive in the country from Afghanistan.

The UK government said “an individual was flagged to the Home Office as part of the rigorous checks process, involving the police, security services and others”.

“However, upon further investigation, they are not a person of interest to the security agencies or law enforcement.”

Five people on a watch list attempted to flee Afghanistan with British help, Sky News reported. Four were stopped, while the fifth is the person in question, who has since arrived in Birmingham.

Reuters said the individual had now been allowed to continue through the process dealing with those being flown from Afghanistan.

“There are people in Afghanistan who represent a serious threat to national security and public safety,” a government spokesman said.

“That is why thorough checks are taking place by government, our world-class intelligence agencies and others. If someone is assessed as presenting as a risk to our country, we will take action.”

In the past 10 days, the UK has flown 8,458 people out of Afghanistan.

James Heappey, a defence minister, said “we would love to be able to just open the gates and let people in”, to speed up the evacuation process.

“But there are people right now in Kabul trying to get on to British flights that we have identified in our checks as being on the UK no-fly list," he said.

“So the checks that are being done are entirely necessary because there are people trying to take advantage of this process to get into the UK to cause us harm.

“Secondly, there is a real threat that our troops are facing and we have to therefore execute this as a military mission, while at the same time as being as humane as possible,” he told the BBC.