A Conservative MP has warned lives “are at risk” because “progress has not been made” in bringing former British Council contractors to the UK.
About 200 contractors remain stuck in Afghanistan “because of a blockage of red tape” in the UK, said John Baron, MP for Basildon and Billericay.
“Until this blockage is cleared, they will remain in danger,” he added.
Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell responded by saying that ministers “very much understand the urgency to which he refers” but stressed “there is a balance to be struck”.
Mr Baron told the Commons: “People’s lives are at risk. I have been through the regular channels a year ago and was told that progress was being made. The progress has not been made.
“For more than 16 months since Operation Pitting and the fall of Kabul, there remain around 200 British Council contractors and their families stuck in Afghanistan.”
Many of them are in hiding and are in fear for their lives, unable to seek medical advice when necessary for themselves and their families, he continued.
Afghan women living under Taliban rule — in pictures
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Women wash freshly dyed silk in a factory in Herat province. Whether Afghan girls receive an education under the Taliban is turning into an issue of wealth, young women living under the regime say. AFP -
Afghan women walk in a Kandahar market. Even if Afghan girls can receive an education, the likelihood they will be able to put it to any use is low. AFP -
An Afghan women weaves silk to make scarfs and other products inside a workshop in the Zandajan district of Herat province. Many Afghan girls fear the longer they stay away from school, the more pressure will build to conform to patriarchal standards and marry. AFP -
Burqa-clad women work in a shampoo factory in Kandahar. AFP -
Women make flatbread in a factory in Kandahar. AFP -
An Afghan woman begs as Taliban fighters stand guard in Kabul. Amnesty International says the Taliban have breached women's and girls' rights to education, work and free movement since they took control of the government. EPA -
Afghan women take a selfie at a park in Kabul. The rates of child, early and forced marriage in Afghanistan are increasing under Taliban rule, Amnesty International has said. EPA -
Afghan girls paint at a workshop class in Herat. The World Bank estimates that for each year of secondary education, the likelihood of marrying before the age of 18 decreases by five percentage points or more. AFP -
Afghan women protest in Kabul. The lives of Afghan women and girls are being destroyed by the Taliban’s crackdown on their human rights, Amnesty has said. AP -
An Afghan woman walks in a graveyard in Kabul. EPA -
Shgofe, an Afghan newscaster, presents a programme on private channel 1TV in Kabul. Female TV presenters and reporters in Afghanistan continue to appear with their faces covered to comply with a mandate issued by the Taliban. EPA -
An Afghan family walk past a market near the Pul-e Khishti Mosque in Kabul. AFP -
People at Wazir Akbar Khan Hill in Kabul. Whether Afghan girls receive an education under the Taliban is turning into an issue of wealth, young women living under the regime say. AFP -
Women browse through garments and fabrics for sale in a stall at a women's handicraft market in Herat. AFP -
Brides wait for the start of a mass wedding in Kabul. Dozens of Afghan women, concealed in thick green shawls, were married off in an austere ceremony attended by hundreds of guests and gun-toting Taliban fighters. AFP
“Since its launch in January, the scheme, the ACRS [Afghan citizens resettlement] scheme has not repatriated a single person out of Afghanistan … confirmation of this that I have seen with the British Council,” he said.
Mr Mitchell told MPs it was “right that officials should look very carefully at each and every one of these cases”.
“We very much understand the urgency to which he refers. This particular pathway process started on June 20 and remained open for eight weeks,” he said.
“The Foreign Office has looked at every single one of the applicants and the process is moving through. I would just say although it is taking a lot of time, it is right that officials should look very carefully at each and every one of these cases.
“There is a balance to be struck. But I will ensure that his words today and his concerns are reflected across government.”
He earlier told MPs that during Operation Pitting, “some” British Council contractors were evacuated from Afghanistan and that some still “remain in Afghanistan” but are eligible for resettlement.
“The Afghan citizens resettlement scheme will see up to 20,000 people from Afghanistan and the region settled to the United Kingdom,” he said.
Speaking about the pathway of the programme under which British Council contracts are eligible, he said: “People are being notified of the outcome and we are sending names to the Home Office for security checks. Once these checks have been completed, we will provide on the next steps to those who are being referred for a place.”
Afghan schoolgirls staging protest — in pictures
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Afghan women and girls take part in a protest in front of the Ministry of Education in Kabul demanding that high schools be reopened to girls. On Wednesday, the Taliban-led ministry said girls in Grade 6 classes and above would not yet be called back to their classrooms. All photos: AFP -
An Afghan woman takes part in a protest in front of the Ministry of Education in Kabul, demanding that high schools be reopened for girls. The ministry had posted a video online congratulating 'all pupils' on the beginning of the new term. -
A Taliban spokesman said they had not decided on 'when or how' girls would be allowed back in school. -
Afghan women take part in a protest in front of the Ministry of Education in Kabul demanding that high schools be reopened for girls. On Wednesday, many pupils left their schools in tears after being told there were no classes. -
The outcry over the Taliban's decision has been echoed by the international community. -
Private schools In the Afghan capital have operated without interruption.
Conservative chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament Julian Lewis suggested ministers need to do more to ensure Afghans who need to be resettled in the UK have their identities protected before they escape.
“Doesn’t the government have to come up with a better idea as how to extract people who are at risk as a result of helping us without them having to declare themselves openly and thus put themselves in more peril?” he asked.
Mr Mitchell replied: “There are various ways in which we can deal with this which it would not be sensible to talk about across the floor of the House.”
Desperate Afghans resort to selling organs for money — vide
Shadow Foreign Office minister Fabian Hamilton expressed worries that “fewer than 10 staff are currently working” on the Afghan citizens resettlement programme.
“I am contacted frequently by British Council contractors who are suffering terribly and I would be grateful if the minister would allow me to raise these cases with him privately,” he added.
“Many of those who are still in Afghanistan are former security guards who protected British staff at the embassy and they undertook an extremely difficult task during the evacuation in August last year.
“We owe so much to these courageous British Council contractors and the fact that they are still in Afghanistan and facing daily violence and threats as a result of their co-operation with the UK is nothing short of a disgrace.”
