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Afghan interpreters challenge MoD redundancy deal Afghan interpreters MoD redundancy deal challenge to go ahead
(about 14 hours later)
The High Court is to rule on whether the Ministry of Defence's redundancy policy discriminates between Afghan and Iraqi interpreters. Three former interpreters for UK forces in Afghanistan have won permission to bring a High Court case against the government for alleged discrimination.
The cases are being brought by several former Afghans who worked for British forces in Helmand. Their challenge centres around a redundancy package announced in 2012.
They claim they should have the same rights as Iraqi interpreters who were allowed into Britain. The interpreters argue they are in danger and say they should be given the same rights as Iraqi interpreters who were allowed to settle in Britain.
The government has offered relocation to some Afghans who still served British forces in December 2012. The government denies their claims and says the interpreters can apply for asylum under a separate policy.
It is this redundancy package that is being challenged in the courts. In his ruling, the judge, Mr Justice Mitting said it was "arguable" the three men had been "unlawfully treated differently" from the Iraqi interpreters.
Forced into hiding The Afghanistan redundancy scheme was outlined when the prime minister announced the drawdown of UK forces from Afghanistan in December 2012. But it only applied to interpreters who were still serving British forces at the time and who had been employed for more than 12 months.
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said several hundred interpreters were employed in Afghanistan by the UK, but many will not qualify for the "redundancy scheme" on offer. Cases involving other interpreters are being put on hold pending the outcome of the three test cases.
This includes some who say they were forced into hiding prior to 2012 because of Taliban threats to their lives. 'Real threats'
Lawyers in the UK have taken up several cases, and will argue at the High Court that the government's offer to those Afghans who served as interpreters alongside the UK's troops is insufficient. BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said several hundred interpreters were employed in Afghanistan by UK troops, but many will not qualify for the scheme.
They will argue that it discriminates between them and those interpreters who worked with UK forces in Iraq. This includes some who say they were forced into hiding prior to 2012 because of Taliban threats to their lives, added our correspondent.
The latter were offered a broader resettlement package, which allowed some Iraqis under threat as a result of their work to come to the UK with their immediate families. Rosa Curling of the law firm Leigh Day, who is acting for the interpreters, said: "Just because they stopped working for the British forces prior to this date does not mean the Taliban are forgetting about them.
The government has said that Afghan former interpreters who do not qualify for redundancy can apply for asylum under a separate "intimidation policy". "They are being targeted with real and serious death threats, in the same way as those who were and are employed after this date."
The government maintains discrimination did not take place.
It says the Iraqi scheme was designed for "particular challenges" and different considerations applied in Afghanistan.
Its barrister, Jonathan Swift QC, also said there were crucial political differences between the two cases, with the Afghan authorities opposed to the interpreters' relocation.