Former British Officer Pleads for UK Visa for Afghan Interpreter

Former British Officer Pleads for UK Visa for Afghan Interpreter
Undated photo showing a Black Hawk helicopter over Kabul in Afghanistan. Dan Kitwood/AP
Updated:

A former British Army officer has pleaded for his former Afghan interpreter to be allowed to settle in the UK, fearing he risks “falling through the cracks” and being killed by the Taliban.

Charlie Herbert, formerly a major general, told The Times his 39-year-old interpreter, identified only as Ahmadzai, was in grave danger as he may be excluded from the UK’s programme to allow settlement for Afghans who had helped British forces in Afghanistan. Ahmadzai, a married father of five, was not employed directly by the British Army but by private contractors, which meant he was not originally eligible for sanctuary in Britain, the paper reported.