Newark and Sherwood District Council offers sanctuary to Afghans whose lives are at risk because of serving alongside British forces

Afghans whose lives are at risk because they served alongside British forces are to be offered sanctuary in Newark and Sherwood.

The Taliban continue to make gains in Afghanistan as international forces withdraw from the country. Thousands of locally-employed staff have been left vulnerable of being targeted by the Taliban as traitors.

After facing criticism, the government agreed to resettle workers, such as interpreters, in the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy.

Newark and Sherwood District Council answered the resettlement call sent to all local authorities and will rehome two families.

It was welcomed by Rob Jackson, an ex-sergeant in the Grenadier Guards and three-time veteran of Afghanistan.

Rob, of Newark, said nothing would have been achieved without the support of interpreters and translators and the UK owed them a debt that must be settled.

He said it would be morally wrong not to relocate them out of harm’s way and questioned how indigenous personnel in any future campaign could trust the British should they be left behind.

Rob said: “We can all appreciate how difficult it is to order a drink or a meal when we are tourists in a foreign country and don’t speak the language. Imagine that your life and those of your colleagues relies upon being able to understand what’s happening around you.

“We relied on them when we were fighting, when we needed to understand the Taliban chatter over the radio to know when we were likely to be hit and to communicate where the IEDs were.

“We needed them when we sat down with the Afghan tribal leaders and the village elders to build a rapport with them.

“Some of them we knew to be Taliban sympathisers and we would instruct the interpreter to make sure they knew we knew that.

“When we trained the Afghan Nation Army their job was to persuade the ANA to stand up to an unpredictable enemy that was rarely seen in what were very scary situations when the temptation for a new army was to run.

“We lived with them and got to know them well and they were just as vulnerable as us. They sat with us, ate with us, got shot at with us and were wounded alongside us.

“They did all of that for a small amount of pay and without them we would have lost many more guys.

“I’m totally against economic migration and believe that people should come here legally, but this isn’t that. These people deserve nothing less than being moved here to a place of safety and away from immediate harm. The British Army would not have been as successful, or unsuccessful, depending on your view of the war, without them.”

District council leader David Lloyd said: “Many locally-employed staff in Afghanistan are now in real danger having provided vital support to our military over the last 20 years.

“These people have acted heroically as our allies, despite the risk to themselves and their families, and it is only right that we do all we can to keep them safe and recognise their service and contribution to our country.

“I know the residents of Newark and Sherwood will help us in welcoming them when they arrive.”

The MoD hopes to relocate all families that are known to the military by September.

Newark MP Robert Jenrick said: “I’m delighted that Newark and Sherwood Council has agreed to support a number of Afghan interpreters and their families to resettle in the UK.

“We owe a debt of gratitude to them and others who assisted British troops in Afghanistan and it’s only right that we stand by them.

“Sadly the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating rapidly and so time is short to ensure safe passage to the UK.

“The generosity of the council and local people may well save the lives of these brave and loyal people.”

The district council has successfully overseen a number of refugee resettlement schemes in recent years, notably Syrians.