No plans to extend Iraq re-settlement plans for Afghanis, says UK

The British government has no plans to offer a re-settlement scheme to Afghanis who may be at risk for working with UK forces similar to that announced for Iraqi interpreters last year, according to Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell. "There are no current requirements, and therefore no plans to extend the scheme to staff in Afghanistan at present, although this is kept under review," Rammell said. "The Iraq scheme was introduced in the context of a particular set of difficult circumstances including significant violence and intimidation of Iraqi locally-engaged staff," he told MPs in a written parliamentary reply published Friday. Foreign Secretary David Miliband announced last year that Iraqi and other locally-employed staff, who had at least 12 months continuous service, would be able to apply for a... [read full story]