Summary
A UK Special Forces officer rejected 1,585 applications from Afghan commandos wanting to move to the UK, all linked to special forces, during the summer of 2023. Concerns were raised about these rejections being part of an "automatic rejections" policy, especially since the rejected Afghans could be witnesses in an inquiry about war crimes. The UK Ministry of Defence is now reviewing the decisions after acknowledging they were not made robustly.
Key Facts
- A UK Special Forces officer turned down 1,585 Afghan resettlement applications in 2023.
- The officer had served in Afghanistan and is linked to an inquiry about alleged SAS war crimes.
- Afghan commandos called the Triples, who helped UK forces, faced reprisals after the Taliban took over in 2021.
- Concerns emerged that the rejections seemed automatic and not properly considered.
- Some rejected applicants could have testified in the war crimes inquiry.
- Five former Triples were reported killed by the Taliban after their applications were denied.
- The Ministry of Defence is reviewing more than 2,000 applications after finding issues with the rejection process.
- A judicial review is ongoing about the role of the UKSF officer in rejecting these applications.
