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A former Afghan interpreter who worked with David Cameron may have suffered a ‘significant miscarriage of justice’ that is preventing him from being rescued from the Taliban, a retired senior British officer has warned.
The interpreter, known as Shaffy, 32, worked for six years with the British – three of them on the frontline and three with senior officers and visiting politicians such as Mr Cameron.
But he has been repeatedly denied sanctuary in the UK because of how he was dismissed from his job, which he calls ‘an injustice that could cost me my life’.
Now retired Major General Charlie Herbert, a former commander of British Forces in Helmand and a Nato adviser, who worked with Shaffy, has taken up his case and is looking into the allegations against someone he describes as ‘an awesome guy’.
A former Afghan interpreter who worked with David Cameron may have suffered a ‘significant miscarriage of justice’ that is preventing him from being rescued from the Taliban, a retired senior British officer has warned
Mr Herbert said: ‘Of all the interpreters I know of still left in Afghanistan, this case stands out as perhaps the most significant miscarriage of justice. I believe he was badly wronged when dismissed without right to appeal in 2013, and to abandon him now to the hands of the Taliban is to multiply that injustice a thousandfold.
‘Given the questionable circumstances of his dismissal after six years of exemplary service, his application should be reconsidered and he should be allowed to put forward representation.
‘Those involved in his dismissal should also be consulted. I suspect they may themselves argue that rejection from relocation is disproportionate to anything he was accused of.’
It is extremely rare for an ex-commander of Mr Herbert’s standing to become directly involved in investigating the background to a case which Ministry of Defence officials insist involves serious offences.
Yesterday Afghanistan’s president blamed America’s swift withdrawal of troops for sweeping gains by the Taliban. Pictured: File image of a US flag being lowered as American and Afghan soldiers attend the handover ceremony at Camp Anthonic on May 2, 2021
Defence sources have twice said Shaffy’s employment was terminated for sexually threatening a woman officer. He categorically denies the allegations.
Mr Herbert was one of 40 senior officers who last week signed a hard-hitting letter to Boris Johnson calling for a faster, more generous policy
