The British government reportedly brought dozens of criminals and even a terrorist to the UK under its flagship Afghanistan rescue programme.
According to government documents obtained by the Westminster news blog Guido Fawkes through Freedom of Information Act requests, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) brought at least 28 people who were later convicted of violent crimes in Britain.
Additionally, at least one Afghan refugee was later referred to the UK anti-terror Prevent programme.
The scheme was put in place to relocate Afghan citizens who worked for or with the UK Government in Afghanistan and were exposed to danger following the Taliban takeover of the country in the wake of the disastrous U.S. withdrawal in 2021 under the Biden administration.
The documents also reportedly showed that in total, 112 Afghans brought to Britain under the scheme were flagged as being involved in “Cases of Interest”.
Furthermore, the Home Office admitted that there could be more such instances involving those brought to the country through the ARAP scheme, but they may not have been specifically labelled as having arrived in the UK under the programme by local authorities, meaning that the government does not actually know how many actually committed crimes in Britain.
The rescue scheme was shut down earlier this year after it was revealed that the government had used a “super injunction” to block media from reporting that had spent some £7 billion to clandestinely fly in nearly 24,000 Afghans to the country after their names were allegedly made public in a massive data leak of former collaborators with Western forces.
However, reports in July claimed that among those airlifted to Britain included Taliban fighters, convicted sex offenders, corrupt government officials, and some who were previously imprisoned by Western coalition forces during the occupation of the country.
Stunningly, allegations emerged that Taliban-tied individuals had infiltrated the evacuation programme by posing as family members of people with claims for asylum, taking advantage of the lax background checking system by the British government. Some brought to the UK were even said to have had “British blood on their hands” from the war.
The latest revelations come as the left-wing Labour Party government announced a series of measures intended to clamp down on illegal migration. Yet, critics, such as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, have noted that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood simultaneously committed to opening more pathways for alleged asylum seekers to come to the country legally, as was the case with those brought in under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, and therefore, the policy may result in more migrants coming to Britain.
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