 |
 |
Local Euro MP's cautious welcome to PM's Iraqi interpreter resettlement announcement
October 8, 2007 5:38 PM
Local Liberal Democrat Euro MP, Diana Wallis, has given a cautious welcome the Prime Minster's announcement this afternoon that Iraqis who had worked for British forces more than a year would be considered for resettlement support.
Ms Wallis was the author of an emergency motion on the matter debated at the party's Annual Conference in Brighton in September. The motion, which condemned the UK government's failure to give asylum to Iraqis who have served the British Forces, was carried unanimously.
Ms. Wallis said: 'This sounds like good news but we need to see the detail. I have requested this urgently on behalf of the constituent's family I am acting for. He had been working for our forces as an interpreter for well over a year and he and his family are now in desperate straits. His family has fled to Syria and he is in hiding following torture and imprisonment. For me the way he and his family are treated will be a test of the genuineness of this announcement today. They, and others like them, have to be got to safety urgently.'
Ms Wallis, President of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, has been particularly motivated by the situation of linguists, interpreters and translators without whom British forces would not be able to function.
She went on to say:
"I have heard many heart-rending stories. The Government's disregard up to this point was not they expected when they volunteered to help the allied effort in Iraq."
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats
-
Help out or donate
-
Tell us what you think