Afghan Asylum Seekers ‘Go Home on Holiday’

Afghans who have been relocated to Britain to protect them from the Taliban have returned to their home country on holiday, it has been claimed.

The Government has spent billions on a scheme to protect the asylum seekers from persecution in their home country after they supported British troops deployed there.

The alleged excursions back to Afghanistan have led to claims that the threat they face has been exaggerated.

A former interpreter, who served with British forces in Afghanistan before starting a new life in the UK, claimed that the Afghanistan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) had been exploited by Afghans.

The allegations were made after a data breach involving the details of over 18,000 soldiers and some of their family members involved in Afghanistan was revealed in July, when a super-injunction was lifted.

‘The only threat is unemployment’

The former interpreter, who requested anonymity, pointed to examples of alleged exploitation including fake Taliban letters, staged “torture” videos and false claims of Taliban attacks against asylum seekers and their relatives.

He claimed that some Afghans coming to the UK had already been granted asylum in other safe countries such as Denmark or Belgium, while others who were relocated only spent one or two days as interpreters with British forces.

He told Sky News: “The only threat is unemployment. We have witnessed … interpreters from various units, from SF [special forces] units… there are hundreds of them going in [to the UK], coming back.

“It made me disappointed because [British] people believed there was a high threat to the interpreters.”

The source also said that applicants were pushing to bring in large, extended families, including spouses and children, nieces and nephews, and second wives.

Under ARAP, an individual who is granted relocation is allowed to bring his or her spouse and any of their dependent children under the age of 18.

However, the former interpreter claimed that applicants were falsely saying their children were under the age of 18, despite being in their 20s.

The source claimed that examples of false evidence to strengthen an application included borrowing a neighbour’s gun and shooting a car to pretend the Taliban had done it, and videos of a man’s “wife” being beaten by the Taliban, only for it to be an unrelated video from the internet.

A different source alleged that the production of falsified threatening letters from the Taliban had led to thriving businesses in the country. He said it could cost between $1,000 (£740) and $1,500 (£1,110) to order a fake letter.

However, he claimed that the Taliban had cracked down on the practice.

Migrants obtain Iranian visas ‘very easily’

Afghan migrants staying in Home Office hotels told The Telegraph that many are planning to visit Afghanistan using a route that leaves no trace on their passports.

The migrants, many of whom were evacuated to Britain after a Ministry of Defence leak of their data, are returning home for holidays after their asylum applications are accepted.

“You don’t leave before getting your asylum case accepted because first it is risky and second the British Government will be holding your passport during the process of your application,” said an Afghan migrant in a Home Office hotel in the Midlands.

The migrants obtain Iranian visas “very easily” and, after arriving in Tehran, travel to the Afghan border and cross without having Afghan stamps on their passports.

After reaching the border, they bribe Iranian and Taliban border forces through pre-established contacts to avoid passport stamps that would “put them in trouble” when they return to Britain, The Telegraph understands.

A Taliban official speaking with The Telegraph acknowledged the loophole exists within the Islamist regime but insisted it was up to the British government “to solve their problems.”

A second migrant told The Telegraph: “My husband is insisting we should go and visit because it’s been over two years since we saw our families last time, but I tell him we have a safe and happy life here and why should we put our status in danger.”

She recalled a relative who was evacuated to Britain two years ago and returned to Afghanistan with his family.

“They went there a few months ago, spent 20 days in Herat and came back without having a problem because British authorities think they were in Iran, not Afghanistan,” she said.

“There are a lot of people who are living in the hotels going in and out of Afghanistan daily, they just keep a low profile while in the country.”

The Ministry of Defence was approached for comment.