The Ministry of Defence has admitted that British special forces were able to stop their Afghan counterparts coming to the UK to escape the Taliban despite having previously said they did not have that power.
Campaigners had previously complained to ministers that an elite Afghan unit was in effect being blocked from sanctuary in Britain after the Taliban takeover in 2021.
It is believed that some of the soldiers, who were members of the Triples — units set up, funded and trained by the UK — could have evidence crucial to the official inquiry into claims British special forces murdered unarmed Afghans.
British forces in Helmand fought alongside Afghan soldiers
MAARCO DI LAURO/GETTY IMAGES
Johnny Mercer, the veterans minister, subsequently complained of a “conflict of interest” because special forces headquarters had been given a role deciding