Joint letter sent to PM Sunak on behalf of 'forgotten Afghans' who fought with UK

Senior military figures and MPs have called on the Prime Minister to keep promises made to relocate the brave Afghans who fought alongside the British military in Helmand.

A signed letter sent to Rishi Sunak demands that the UK must not forget its "debt of honour" to Afghans waiting in bridging hotels in Pakistan and still living "in limbo" since the fall of Kabul in 2021.

Signatories include former British Army chief General Lord Dannatt, former Nato general secretary Lord Robertson and former Parachute Regiment officer, now Barnsley Labour MP, Dan Jarvis.

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According to the letter, 21,387 Afghans have already been evacuated under the Government's ARAP scheme, "but a cohort has been ignored and forgotten".

It goes on to say that 2,725 Afghans eligible for sanctuary in the UK "remain in grave danger" in Afghanistan and a further 1,953 are being held in holding centres in Pakistan.

MP Dan Jarvis, a former Army officer, who also signed the letter, posted to Twitter: "After Afghanistan fell, the UK Government promised to relocate the Afghans who bravely served with us.

"They are failing on this obligation and there's no plan to get those Afghans left behind to safety. We must not renege on our debt of honour to them."

The joint letter ends by saying that "it is inconceivable that we should renege our debt of honour, and forget them".