MOD is still evacuating 250 people a WEEK out of Afghanistan to the UK

MOD is still evacuating 250 people a WEEK out of Afghanistan to the UK as Armed Forces Minister pledges to continue bringing them ‘indefinitely’ and for ‘as long as people who are eligible want to come’

James Heappey said UK has brought ‘about 2,800’ people out of Afghanistan
MoD is bringing around 250 people a week out of the country, the minister said
When asked how long this would continue, the minister replied: ‘Indefinitely’

By Henry Martin For Mailonline

Published: 09:48 GMT, 19 January 2022 | Updated: 09:48 GMT, 19 January 2022

Britain is still evacuating 250 people a week from Afghanistan, the Armed Forces minister has revealed as he pledged to keep bringing them ‘as long as people who are eligible want to come’.

James Heappey told LBC the UK had managed to bring ‘about 2,800’ people out of Afghanistan since the end of Operation Pitting – the extraction of British nationals and eligible Afghans following the 2021 Taliban takeover of the region.

Mr Heappey said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was ‘steadily, quietly, getting on with it’, bringing around 250 people a week out of the country, mostly through Pakistan.

When asked how long this would continue, the minister replied: ‘Indefinitely.’

Pictured: A full flight of 265 people supported by members of the UK Armed Forces on board an evacuation flight out of Kabul airport, Afghanistan in August 2021

James Heappey told LBC Britain had managed to bring ‘about 2,800’ people out of Afghanistan since the end of Operation Pitting – the evacuation of British nationals and eligible Afghans following the 2021 Taliban offensive

UK military personnel onboard a A400M aircraft departing Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021

UK’S PLEDGE TO RESETTLE AFGHANS

The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme has already settled thousands of Afghans who have worked with the UK government, and their families.

The ARAP scheme, which launched in April 2021 and will continue to operate ‘indefinitely’, offers relocation or other assistance to current and former Locally Employed Staff in Afghanistan.

Under the ARAP scheme, any current or former Locally Employed Staff (LES) directly employed by the British Government assessed to be at ‘serious risk of threat to life’ is eligible to apply for ARAP, regardless of their employment status, rank or role, or length of time served.

The Relocation Offer under the ARAP scheme applies to staff whom the UK government considers to have put themselves in the most danger and contributed the most to the UK mission in Afghanistan.

This is in addition to the separate Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), which Britain formally opened on January 6 2022.

The scheme will prioritise those who assisted British efforts in Afghanistan and ‘stood up for values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech, and rule of law’, the Government announced.

Vulnerable people, including women and girls at risk, and members of ethnic and religious minorities along with LGBT+ people will also be prioritised.

The Government has pledged to resettle more than 5,000 people in the first year and up to 20,000 ‘over the coming years’, working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify those in need of help.

Anyone who is resettled through the ACRS will receive indefinite leave to enter or remain (ILR) in the UK, and will be able to apply for British citizenship after 5 years in the UK under existing rules.

He said: ‘I would love to be able to fly a load of planes in Kabul, scoop up 1,000 people in one go, and bring them out, it’s not realistic.

‘People are having to get out through a number of routes, none of which I should really disclose to your listeners.

‘It may be the reassuring point to make in response to your question is that these people haven’t been forgotten, this isn’t a line of activity that has disappeared out of view.’

The minister said he had visited Uzbekistan and Qatar while ‘looking for new routes’, and has been having ‘lots of conversations with our friends in Pakistan’.

He said: ‘Our commitment to those who served alongside our Armed Forces during our time in Afghanistan is absolute and we will keep bringing people here for as long as people who are eligible want to come.’

The revelation comes as the MoD announced that Armed Forces personnel who took part in the evacuation of more than 15,000 people from Afghanistan in August 2021 are set to receive a new medal recognising their efforts.

Personnel will receive the existing Operational Service Medal Afghanistan, featuring a new clasp reading ‘Operation Pitting’, recognising their contribution to the evacuation of Afghan and British nationals.

More than 15,000 people were evacuated by personnel from across the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force, during the effort.

Approximately 600 soldiers were deployed to Kabul airport, providing food, water, and medical assistance to evacuees after the Taliban took control of the country.

Evacuees were flown out of Kabul by the Royal Air Force in what Defence Secretary Ben Wallace described as ‘the largest British evacuation since the Second World War’.

One flight set a new record for the highest number of people carried in an RAF C-17 aircraft, at 439.

The Prime Minister said: ‘I’m delighted that Her Majesty The Queen has given permission for a special medal to be awarded to all those who deployed to Kabul, to honour their heroism in the face of extreme adversity.

‘Operation Pitting will go down as one of the great achievements of our UK Armed Services and their civilian counterparts in the post-war era.

‘The whole country can be immensely proud of their tireless work to bring men, women and children to safety. They represent the very best of us.’

Personnel will receive the existing Operational Service Medal Afghanistan, featuring a new clasp reading ‘Operation Pitting’

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