Thousands of Afghans who fought alongside British troops have accused Labour of ‘betrayal’ for blocking their rescue – despite a lifeline thrown to some of their colleagues.

On Friday it was revealed that a path has opened for nearly 900 former Afghan Special Forces, known as the Triples, and their families to come to the UK after years being blocked.

But thousands more Afghans who fought beside British soldiers or acted as frontline interpreters remain in hiding as the Taliban seeks revenge.

In 2021, the Conservatives vowed to ‘shift heaven and earth’ to evacuate those who were eligible and at risk and set up a special unit to ensure safe passage. 

More than 11,000 were guided to safety, but those left behind say thousands more needing vital UK help to facilitate their escape into Pakistan have been blocked for nine months.

The freeze was triggered after an unprecedented two-year government superinjunction aimed at keeping the rescue effort secret was lifted. 

It allowed the Daily Mail to reveal a catastrophic 2022 data leak within the Ministry of Defence which compromised the personal details of 18,700 Afghans.

Many of those waiting for rescues were part of the data leak and believe the delay only increases the risk of being found by the Taliban. 

A path has now opened for nearly 900 former Afghan Special Forces, known as the Triples (pictured, file photo), and their families to come to the UK after years being blocked 

But thousands more Afghans who fought beside British soldiers or acted as frontline interpreters remain in hiding as the Taliban seeks revenge (Pictured: Taliban members patrol the streets of the Afghan capital of Kabul in September 2021) 

More than 11,000 were guided to safety in 2021 under the Conservatives, but those left behind say thousands more needing vital UK help to facilitate their escape into Pakistan 

ANGER OF THOSE LEFT BEHIND 

Former frontline interpreter Abdul fears he has been abandoned to the Taliban but is praying that the British Government will help him escape Afghanistan.

He is ‘baffled and angry’ at being denied help to evacuate and obtain vital documents given routinely up until July 2025 to thousands of his colleagues. 

The father of three, who was part of the 2022 data breach, was approved for relocation before the UK ‘turned its back’ on those it had promised to help.

‘I feel betrayed that the UK is not helping those who risked their lives on the frontlines beside soldiers,’ he said from his place in hiding.

‘Why has the UK helped thousands of my colleagues but suddenly, after admitting it leaked our personal details, it has stopped helping us escape?’

An ex-translator, approved for relocation with his family, said: ‘These are very dangerous times for us. 

‘The UK Government has betrayed us, it is telling us not to move but the Taliban threat is real.

‘Visas cost thousands of dollars and we need help with documentation and movement. This is crucial to our safety. 

‘We do not understand why thousands have been helped to escape but we are being abandoned. It is cruel – we are being given no explanation.’

He said security minister Dan Jarvis and Armed Forces minister Al Carns, who both served in Afghanistan, ‘know our sacrifice and risks we face daily’.

After being elected in 2024, Labour continued with the secret assisted evacuations, but this stopped suddenly in July 2025.

Dozens in Afghanistan have contacted the Mail’s award-winning Betrayal of the Brave campaign asking for their plight to be highlighted. 

They insist they cannot escape without help because of security issues and the huge price of documents, including visas, needed to leave the country. 

Former interpreter Rafi Hottak, who campaigned for the Triples and ex-colleagues to be granted sanctuary, said of this week’s development: ‘This welcome decision underlines the need to urgently reopen assisted evacuations.

‘It is needed more than ever if lives are to be saved.’

In recent weeks escape routes have become more dangerous with two borders effectively closed by the US/Israel attacks on Iran and the ‘open war’ between Pakistan and the Taliban. 

Black market visas to Islamabad, the ‘gateway’ for relocation in the UK, cost £9,000 each.

Lawyers for those still trapped are planning an unprecedented legal challenge to the decision to halt assisted evacuations and force Labour to kick-start the successful scheme again.

The MoD said it aimed to relocate all those granted sanctuary during this Parliament.

The thousands waiting for help from the specially created unit – known only as the ‘third party organisation’ for security reasons – have been approved for relocation in UK.

Professor Sara de Jong, a founding member of the Sulha Alliance, which helps former interpreters, said: ‘The promise made last July by the Defence Secretary (John Healey) that the invitations for resettlement of Afghans and their immediate family would be “honoured” rings increasingly hollow.

‘In the months since he had to admit to the data breach and said that “when this nation makes a promise, we should keep it”, these Afghans have been completely abandoned.

‘It is entirely unacceptable that the British Government, after promising in 2021 to “shift heaven and earth” to get eligible Afghans out of Afghanistan, continues to leave them at the Taliban’s mercy.’

Lawyer Erin Alcock of Leigh Day, who has fought Afghan cases in the courts, said: ‘We represent a number of individuals and their families, who have long been found eligible for relocation to the UK, yet they remain stuck waiting in Afghanistan, destitute and living in constant fear. They are being let down by the continual failures of the past and present government to do what is necessary to properly resource and facilitate their relocation.

‘Urgent action is needed to address these issues so that the government can honour the commitments that were made to those who supported their mission in Afghanistan and those who continue to pay the price of that support.’

A spokesperson for the MoD said : ‘We remain committed to the promises we have made to our Afghan friends and allies – including relocating eligible Afghans to the UK. Eligible Afghans are continuing to be relocated to the UK once they receive UK visas.’