‘He deserves to be here’: War veteran Simon Weston backs our campaign to save Afghan pilot from deportation

Mr Weston ‘genuinely saddened and upset’ by Home Office threat and warned no one would want to risk their life to support British efforts abroad in future

Simon Weston says refusing pilot refuge in the UK sends the wrong message to the world (PA)

Falklands war veteran Simon Weston has warned no one will want to risk their lives to support British efforts abroad in future if an Afghan pilot is deported to Rwanda.

Mr Weston, who suffered 46 per cent burns when the British ship Sir Galahad was bombed and set alight in 1982, said he was “genuinely saddened and upset” by the Home Office’s threat to remove the Afghan war veteran, who served alongside British troops, to the east African country.

The pilot, who came to the UK via small boat, fled Afghanistan after spending months in hiding from the Taliban and said he was unable to find any safe and legal route to come to the country.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet Simon Weston and Welsh secretary Alun Cairns during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London (PA)

His plight was revealed by The Independent, which is calling on Rishi Sunak to support Afghan war heroes who served alongside Britain.

Mr Weston, who served in the Welsh Guards, said that the pilot had “done nothing wrong” by coming to the UK this way.

“He’s shown courage, endeavour and ingenuity to get here. This is all about humanity and he deserves to be here because of the risks he took. This is not a political thing, it’s not about one side or another. The only side we should come down on here is humanity’s side,” he said.

Mr Weston added that the pilot had clearly shown intelligence and ability by training to join the Afghan air force and would be a “benefit to this country” as a result.

He asked what message it would send if the government failed to help the veteran, adding: “What message are we giving to people around the world if we do not help this pilot? We don’t know where the next conflict will be or who we will need help from.

The Independent has launched a petition calling for the UK to support Afghan war heroes who served alongside Britain.

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“What message are we giving to local people who agree with our local values? What are we saying to potential supporters and collaborators? Are we telling them that once it’s all over we’ll just abandon you to whatever’s left? Are we saying that in the end we will turn our back on you and leave you to be tortured and murdered? That we will leave your family in harm’s way?

“We can’t do that and we must honour these people.”

Mr Weston joins more than 20 senior military chiefs and politicians backing The Independent’s campaign. The Royal British Legion, which represents tens of thousands of armed forces personnel, veterans and families, has also urged Britain to “honour its commitment” to help Afghan war heroes who worked with the British in Afghanistan.

Others who have added their support include Admiral Lord West, former head of the Royal Navy, Air Marshal Edward Stringer, former head of RAF Intelligence, and General Lord Richard Dannatt, former head of the army.

General Lord David Richards of Herstmonceux, the British former commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, also backed the campaign, saying it would be a “travesty of justice” if the airman, who arrived in the UK via small boat, was to be kicked out.

An Afghan pilot who arrived in the UK on small boat is being threatened with deportation to Rwanda (The Independent)

The general resettlement scheme for at-risk Afghans has only rehoused 22 people since the initial evacuation, government data shows.

Charities and politicians have warned that the lack of functioning legal routes to the UK for Afghans is fuelling Channel crossings. Afghans were the highest nationality crossing the Channel on small boats during the first three months of this year - with 909 people making the journey, data released last week shows.