The Rwanda Bill presently being bounced around Parliament is, in general, very much not an issue for comment by BAFF. Members will have their own individual views on what is a highly charged political controversy.
It is of interest, though, that one of the ongoing arguments is about excluding from Rwanda deportation those Afghans who arrive here illegally but previously worked for or directly alongside British forces in Afghanistan, such as interpreters or military members of the so-called Triples.
Several members of the House of Lords with military or defence connections have argued strongly that such Afghans be excluded from the Bill.
'Sources' told the
Guardian
earlier this week that the government is 'considering' concessions on the bill to allow exemptions for Afghans who served alongside UK forces,
According to the
Independent
, the Defence Secretary Grant Shapps says he is “immensely keen” to help Afghan heroes, but there were already schemes in place to help those fleeing the Taliban regime as he rejected calls from a host of former Tory military figures to change course on Rwanda bill.