The unresolved plight of the Afghan ‘Triples’ is a national disgrace

Editorial: After months of lobbying – in particular, by The Independent – the government’s veterans minister has finally conceded that hundreds of former Afghan special forces who fought on behalf of the West must be permitted to resettle in the UK. In this endeavour, he deserves the widest possible support

Minister for veterans, Johnny Mercer, has challenged fellow ministers (Getty Images)

More than two years after the British had to hurriedly evacuate from Afghanistan, a shameful legacy of that conflict still lingers and haunts the nation: the Afghans we left behind.

That so many who signed up to help the allies are still languishing in jeopardy in Pakistan, and even in hiding in Afghanistan, is an unforgivable betrayal. The fact that the Taliban are certain to torture and kill them, and their families, if they ever got their hands on them should be proof enough of their service, direct or indirect, to the UK. When Britain needed them to fight the long and merciless war in Afghanistan – one whereby the West effectively invaded their country in the name of the “war on terror” – they were there for us. Now, all too often, we have not been there for them.

It is a continuing outrage, and one The Independent has proudly fought to put right.