Today's news includes continued reporting of the Shoreham Air Show crash, the Government's position on Afghan Interpreters and ISIL's destruction of ancient monuments in Palmyra.
Red Arrows
A number of today’s print outlets, including the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and The Times continue their coverage of the Shoreham Air Show crash, discussing the “stringent new rules” introduced by the CAA which will see vintage jet aircraft banned from performing aerobatics over land, until further notice.
The suggestion by a former air show promoter that the RAF’s Red Arrows display team believed the danger level was ‘too high’ and so “refused” to perform at Shoreham, is widely reported.
An RAF Spokesperson said:
Our thoughts remain with all those affected by the recent tragedy at Shoreham. While it would be completely inappropriate for the MOD to offer comment on any on-going civilian aircraft accident investigation, we can confirm that RAF assets have performed for the British Public at Shoreham for many years and that the media commentary and speculation on any RAF safety concerns is misguided.
Afghan Interpreters
In their continued coverage of this topic, the Daily Mail today features an example of the apparent intimidation experienced by individuals and their families of those who worked as interpreters for the UK Armed Forces in Afghanistan. Today’s article comes off the back of an interview with the wife of a former Afghan interpreter, who claims to have lost her unborn baby as a result of the violence set against her by the Taliban in their attempts to find her husband. While the UK government does not comment on individual cases, it should be noted that every case of intimidation is investigated professionally and thoroughly by the UK’s permanent expert in-country team, which includes experienced British Detectives. This teams helps all current and former local staff with any concern they may have about intimidation related to their UK employment. The government’s policy is about selecting the appropriate measure to mitigate the threat.
The paper also highlights its Betrayal of the Brave campaign, reporting that Generals, decorated war heroes, grieving families and politicians have urged soldiers and members of the public to sign a petition to save Afghan interpreters from the Taliban. Former General Sir Richard Dannatt and former General Sir Mike Jackson have praised the campaign.
Minister for the Armed Forces, Penny Mordaunt has already expressed the government’s gratitude to local Afghan staff, including interpreters, for the vital role they played in operations in Afghanistan. As part of the UK’s ex-gratia redundancy package in recognition of this service, local staff have been offered a generous financial package and for those staff who were working on the frontline in Helmand for 12 months or more, the opportunity to apply for relocation to the UK. A total of 500 local staff are eligible out of which 150 have already moved to the UK, along with their families bringing the current total to 330. This is a redundancy policy specifically for Afghan local staff and is separate to the UK asylum system. You can read more about the government’s policy here and here.
Local Afghan staff who seek entry to the UK independently of the established processes will be considered under the UN Refugee Convention, to which the UK is a signatory. This requires that a refugee must be outside his or her country of origin before they can be recognised as such. The UK will only consider an asylum claim from someone present in the UK and it will be considered on its individual merits.
ISIL
The Times and Daily Telegraph report yesterday’s headline news, that fighters from ISIL have destroyed one of the best known temples in Syria's ancient city of Palmyra after spending a month filling it with explosives. In The Guardian the head of UNESCO describs ISIL’s destruction of the Roman temple in Palmyra as a war crime.
As a leader in the counter-ISIL Global Coalition the UK continues to make significant contributions to the efforts to tackle the threat from the terrorist organisation. By focussing these efforts where the UK can have the most impact we are delivering niche expertise, capabilities and equipment that has allowed Iraqi ground forces to liberate around 25% of ISIL-held territory since the coalition started operations last year.
You can read our latest airstrike update here.
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