Leaving Afghan heroes out in the cold is beyond callous – it shames us all

Editorial: The pilot whose case The Independent has highlighted says Britain is losing the trust of those who have helped our forces. The government should not ignore the impact of those words

This pilot is more than a refugee (The Independent)

The Afghan pilot on whose behalf The Independent has been campaigning for three months has received a response from the British government to his application to be relocated legally to the UK. He has been told that he is “not eligible” under the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (Arap), because he was not “directly employed” by the UK government, armed forces or contractors, or working “in partnership” with them.

He says that he flew sorties with Afghan forces that were planned by British commanders, but the letter rejecting his application says that allied operations in Afghanistan would not have been “materially less efficient or materially less successful” without him.

The rejection has been condemned by General Sir Richard Dannatt, the former head of the British army, who told The Independent it was a “very disappointing decision, justified on very narrow grounds”. Air Marshal Edward Stringer, commander of RAF air operations during the Afghan conflict, said the UK government was making a “weaselling distinction”. That the pilot believes the UK is “losing the trust” of those who served alongside our forces is a further damning indictment of the government’s position.