Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on the protection of interpreters who have previously worked for the Armed Forces and who no longer feel safe in their country of origin.

Her Majesty's Government does not have one single overarching policy but instead has two specific Cabinet Office agreed policies for Iraq and Afghanistan. The Iraq policy ensured all Iraqi interpreters who fulfilled the eligibility criteria for relocation, and asked to be, were relocated to the UK. Threat to life from insurgent/militia attacks outside of the working environment was a central consideration in the design of the scheme's eligibility criteria.

In Afghanistan, our Intimidation Policy supports all former locally employed staff who believe they are in danger as a result of their UK employment, irrespective of date, role, or length of service. Due to the concerted effort when employing local staff in Afghanistan, not to employ individuals from the local area, and to provide accommodation on base, the risk of off duty attacks was significantly lower and as such it was not necessary to relocate all interpreters to ensure their safety.