MP: Government must break logjam
During Defence Questions in the House of Commons today, John Baron MP asked,
“As the Chair of the British Council APPG, I have been raising the plight of the 170 British Council contractors who remain in Afghanistan, 85 of whom are deemed by the Government to be at ‘very high risk’.”
“Further to today’s Written Ministerial Statement, can the Minister confirm that the latter group in particular will have their cases prioritised given the great danger to their lives and, if not, can he raise it within Government as a matter of urgency given we now require action?”
The Minister replied that, further to the Statement, the Government was now making progress in helping these people.
John said afterwards,
“The Government appears to be finally moving on this issue, but the plain fact is that nearly a year after the fall of Afghanistan there are still 170 British Council contractors in grave danger. Having raised this issue many times in Parliament and in meetings with Ministers, I hope we can break through the logjam and get these people to safety as soon as possible. Time is of the essence.”
