Brown u-turn could give Iraqi interpreters asylum in the UK

Insurgent death squads have murdered scores of local interpreters who they accuse of 'collaborating' with the British Army.

Many of the survivors are now begging for asylum for themselves and their families as UK forces prepare to quit Iraq.

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But the 91 interpreters still employed by the Army in southern Iraq have been told they will not receive any special treatment, despite the terrible risks they have taken to help the coalition.

Defence Secretary Des Browne has come under fire in the row over whether the Iraqis should be given asylum here.

The minister was accused of a "masterclass in obfuscation" after appearing to suggest in a radio interview that up to 20,000 Iraqis who have worked with British forces since 2003 in the country may seek refuge in Britain.

Currently only about 600 Iraqis are employees of the British military or the embassy in Baghdad, according to one report.

Tom Porteous, London director of Human Rights Watch, welcomed a review announced by Gordon Brown into whether 91 interpreters employed by the British military should be granted asylum.

However, he added: "We are not particularly encouraged by the interview yesterday by the Secretary of State [Mr Browne], which seemed to have been a masterclass in obfuscation. He mentioned this figure of 20,000 which has now been qualified down to 15,000."

He also rejected Mr Browne's claim that the situation was complex.

"The situation is actually rather simple. There is a massive refugee crisis in the region," he said.

"The British Government has done very little to deal with it either in terms of helping frontline states to cope with the strain or in terms or resettling vulnerable groups, including those who have worked for the British government."

He also said that many of those who had worked for British forces would want to stay in Iraq or the region, rather than coming to the UK, and that some may have died.

It has emerged that one Iraqi translator has already been given asylum here this year in a case that could have a significant bearing on how ministers deal with future applications.

An immigration tribunal in Birmingham granted asylum in April to a translator who travelled to the UK via Syria.

The panel found that an individual who "has worked as a translator or in any other way such as to be regarded by insurgents as a collaborator with the multinational force and who has been targeted by a significant insurgent group is a person who at present faces a real risk of persecution".

The Iraqi, who cannot be named and worked for the US military, fled Iraq in February 2005 and came to Britain three months later hidden on a ship.

By ordering a review into asylum claims by interpreters the Prime Minister has signalled that the Government accepts these cases need to be properly looked into. However, ministers are wary of opening the flood gates to tens of thousands more asylum applications from Iraq.

Downing Street is reported to have told one interpreter, who had worked for the British army for three years, that he could not expect special treatment when seeking refuge in Britain.

Military officers argue that the UK has a "moral responsibility" to help such individuals.

Mr Browne has stressed the "duty of care" Britain owes towards people it employs.

The British military is reported to be employing 500 Iraqis in southern Iraq and a further 100 mainly working for the British embassy in Baghdad.