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| Afghan interpreters to get right to live in UK | Afghan interpreters to get right to live in UK |
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| Up to 600 Afghan interpreters who worked alongside British troops are to be given the right to live in the UK, government sources have confirmed. | Up to 600 Afghan interpreters who worked alongside British troops are to be given the right to live in the UK, government sources have confirmed. |
| The plan marks a climbdown from ministers who had decided they should not get the same UK resettlement rights as interpreters in the Iraq conflict. | The plan marks a climbdown from ministers who had decided they should not get the same UK resettlement rights as interpreters in the Iraq conflict. |
| Afghan interpreters who worked on the front line for a year or more will initially be offered a five-year visa. | Afghan interpreters who worked on the front line for a year or more will initially be offered a five-year visa. |
| The move covers about half of Afghan interpreters who helped the UK. | The move covers about half of Afghan interpreters who helped the UK. |
| A Downing Street source said the proposals would give interpreters a choice - "the opportunity to go on working in Afghanistan, learning new skills and to go on rebuilding their country or to come and make a new start in Britain". | A Downing Street source said the proposals would give interpreters a choice - "the opportunity to go on working in Afghanistan, learning new skills and to go on rebuilding their country or to come and make a new start in Britain". |
| BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said the coalition previously appeared to be split on the issue. | |
| Liberal Democrats, including former Royal Marine Lord Ashdown, had called for a resettlement package. | |
| Others feared a blanket right to come to the UK could be taken as a sign of a lack of faith in Afghanistan's future after Western forces left, our correspondent added. | |
| Three Afghan interpreters had already issued a High Court claim for a judicial review of the UK government's previous decision. | |
| The Downing Street source said Prime Minister David Cameron had been "very clear that we should not turn our backs on those who have trod the same path as our soldiers in Helmand, consistently putting their lives at risk to help our troops achieve their mission". | |
| "We should recognise the service given by those who have regularly put themselves in real danger while working for us," the source added. | |
| Under the plans, which have yet to be signed off by ministers, those allowed into the UK on a five-year visa will then be able to apply for indefinite leave. | |
| The Border Agency will approve how many close family members they are allowed to bring. | |
| Interpreters who choose to stay in Afghanistan will be allowed to sign up for for fully-funded training and education for five years, or instead be paid at their current rate for a further 18 months. | |
| Lawyer Rosa Curling, who is representing one of the three interpreters who launched a legal challenge against the UK government, praised the decision "to recognise their bravery and to make sure that their lives are now kept safe". | |
| She said: "These are men who have been on the front line with our troops, risking their lives, involved in frontline battle, so we're delighted that the government has finally seen sense and decided to provide them with the assistance that they provided to the Iraqi interpreters," she told BBC Radio 5 live. |