The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme was set up to provide a life-saving path for Afghan nationals who directly supported the British mission in Afghanistan. At its core, the scheme is both a moral duty and strategic necessity: those who stood with us should not be left behind.
In principle, the scheme is right. But in practice, it has fallen dramatically short, both morally and logistically, with fatal consequences for real human beings who risked everything to serve the UK and who are now stranded under Taliban rule, living in fear for their lives.
One case is emblematic of the serious and systemic failings in how this scheme is being run. It involves a courageous Afghan intelligence officer who worked with the National Directorate of Security in Kabul. Every day, he provided operational intelligence directly to British forces and embassy personnel. His reports identified imminent threats, protected lives, and were critical to the safety of UK military and diplomatic staff.
This individual played a crucial role in saving British lives. He supported our troops and our mission, often at immense personal risk to him and his family. And yet, it appears we have abandoned him.
When we consider that we gave so much to Afghanistan, building a new government, freedom and some democracy, the West’s retreat from Afghanistan is a shameful act. But worse still is the betrayal of those who served us and now find themselves brushed aside.
This individual’s service is not in doubt. A senior British general who commanded forces in Kabul has written a compelling testimony in his support. He stated clearly that the intelligence this man provided was “crucially lifesaving” and directly aided UK national security objectives.
Yet, his ARAP application was rejected. Because the decision-maker was “unable to satisfy themselves” from the paperwork that his role involved “closely supporting or in partnership with a UK government department.”
This is an individual who risked everything for our mission, who is now in hiding, his family in danger, and he is told that his sacrifice wasn’t official enough. Because he didn’t have a P60. This isn’t just a bureaucratic oversight. It is a moral failure.
This is not a party-political issue. I recognise that this government inherited a broken system. But it is now down to this government to reform it.
Thousands of applications remain unresolved, some submitted as far back as 2021. A lack of transparency and long delays have left these individuals in personal and collective danger. The scheme’s criteria are narrow and inconsistently applied. Some have been excluded simply because they worked for subcontractors rather than the Ministry of Defence, even though they carried out the same vital work and faced the same risks.
Those who stood by us did so on the understanding, indeed the promise, that we would protect them. That promise is now being broken.
Politicians are not bound by bureaucracy. We are elected to make moral decisions, to feel the pain of others and to act when the system fails.
I do not believe that this one case is an isolated failure. It exposes systematic failures at the heart of the ARAP scheme. The excessive bureaucracy, the narrow eligibility criteria and the indifference to the individual risks people took for our benefit are illustrative of a system that is no longer fit for purpose.
We must stand by those who stood by us. Because if we do not, then we are not worthy of the freedoms we uphold and fight for. Those who stood by us fought for those freedoms too, and we cannot abandon them, given the threats they now face. That they are in hiding, fearful for their lives, is an absolute travesty, and the idea that we could have forgotten them should be a badge of shame for any British government.
To abandon this individual, and others like him, is a moral disgrace.
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