Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Fowler (Conservative). It was answered on Thursday, 9 October 2008.

Iraq: Refugees

Question: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Perhaps I may ask about one small group of that vast total—the interpreters who have helped the British in Iraq. Did he hear, or have reported to him, the BBC programme on Monday on one of the interpreters, forced out to Syria, who had worked for a British newspaper for four years and who, because of that, received death threats and his brother-in-law was kidnapped and murdered? I raised this case behind my Question in April of last year. Is it not shaming that the British refused him entry to this country and that it was left to the Americans to resettle him? Is it not, sadly, typical of the restrictive way we have treated the interpreters who have worked for us and helped us so much?

Answer: My Lords, I must apologise for not being familiar with that individual case. I am familiar with the overall scene, however, and I believe that the United Kingdom’s record in this matter is very good. The Foreign Secretary announced a scheme in October 2007 particularly to address these individuals. More than 20,000 people have worked for the United Kingdom in Iraq, but only 700 have worked in a close and sustained way and hence are qualified for consideration. One thousand one hundred have applied for handling under the scheme; 500 were eligible, 72 are now in the UK, 103 will come in the next few months, 144 are in the final stages, and more will follow. Fifty per cent of the eligible people chose to take a financial option and stay in Iraq, and that must be good for Iraq.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 704 c329
Session: 2007-08
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Immigration Iraq Interpreters Armed conflict Refugees Internally displaced people Iraq conflict
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk