Afghan interpreter has UK asylum rejection reversed

An Afghan interpreter who worked with British forces has won his fight to remain in the UK.

The man, known as Mohammad, had applied for asylum saying the Taliban had threatened to kill him if he returned to Afghanistan.

The UK Border Agency refused his request earlier this month but reversed the decision after new information about his case came to light.

It said improvements would now be made to the application process.

The 26-year-old suffered shrapnel wounds to the head, neck, arms and chest in an explosion while working with a British unit in Sangin in 2007.

'Significant evidence'

He has been in the UK since last year but was told earlier this month his asylum application had been rejected because he had given insufficient proof of his identity and work.

The UKBA decided to review the decision after publicity about the case led to more information being made available and has now told Mohammad he can stay.

A spokesman said: "Following inconsistencies in the original claim, significant new evidence was subsequently put forward resulting in a decision to grant asylum.

"We are now working with the Ministry of Defence to improve the process for obtaining information about individuals who have worked with the armed forces to ensure this does not happen again."