Afghan veterans should be allowed to join British Army, ex-special forces soldier says

Major Noor Aziz Ahmadzai is urging the government to allow him and his former colleagues to join the British Army.

The ex-special forces veteran is also one of the 1,400 Afghans, and their families, to have faced homelessness since being given sanctuary in the UK after the fall of Kabul in August 2021.

Conservative former security minister Tom Tugendhat said the Ministry of Defence has "really let itself down" in not relaxing strict citizenship rules.

He said they should take advantage of the training and expertise of Afghan exiles.

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This comes as the armed forces face a recruitment crisis. In 2024, 12,850 people joined the Armed Forces, while 14,830 people left.

Noor joined the special police at 16, working as a translator for the British before joining the Afghan special forces.

He was then picked to spend two-and-a-half years on the officer training programme at Sandhurst.

In June 2015, he was chosen to give a reading at a service of thanksgiving in St Paul's Cathedral in front of Queen Elizabeth.

He became deputy commander of a specialist counter-terrorism unit, which responded to suicide attacks in Kabul.

He was one of the first on the scene of hundreds of serious incidents, including the murder of newborn babies and their mothers at a maternity clinic in May 2020, and the Taliban siege of the Intercontinental Hotel in January 2018.

"The Intercontinental hotel is one of the most famous hotels in Kabul, and they killed a lot of civilians there", Noor told Sky News.

"We had an order to respond to what was happening... we were joined by the British Army. We saved some diplomats and were able to bring them out.

"I started there at 12 o'clock midnight, and continued till 12 o'clock in the afternoon, until we finished the enemy. I lost one of my soldiers.

"He lost his life in my hug [in my arms]."

When the Taliban took back control in August 2021, he and his colleagues were targeted as members of the Afghan special forces.

"It was a black day for all Afghans who worked with other militaries," he said.

Noor was arrested at a Taliban checkpoint, but he was released after a commanding officer claimed he had quit three months before.

He ran four-and-a-half miles home without shoes, his feet covered in blisters. His mother then hid him inside a water tank at his sister's house, and he was rescued thanks to a colleague from Sandhurst he contacted via Facebook.

"There was an attack on my home, and they shot my family members," Noor said. "My colleague thought I was dead.

"When I messaged, he told me he was crying that I was alive. He said, 'come to the airport at six in the morning'. Then I put on women's clothes, as the Taliban were stopping cars - but when they saw a woman in the car, they would leave the car alone.

"I used a woman's scarf on my head, and I went to the airport. He came to the gate to get me. My mum just pushed me. She said, 'get out of here', and so I didn't hug her one last time."

His mother's request for asylum to join him in the UK was rejected, and he has only rarely been able to speak to her on the phone, as the Taliban could track their calls.

Noor was one of 37,218 Afghans brought to the UK since August 2021.

Over the past four years, 1,405 households have reported themselves homeless to their local authorities.

Noor also ended up on the streets, but was taken in by a passing British veteran until he found work as a station security guard.

"We will never forget what the British Army did for us, they saved thousands of lives and did an amazing job," he told Sky News.

"But it's hard. My son, he will ask me, 'Dad, you did 17 years in Afghan Special Forces and what was your future when you came back to the UK?' Honestly, I don't have any answer for him.

"We have a lot of talent here, a lot of generals, colonels. They're working in pizza shops. They're working for Uber. I'm a counter-terrorism specialist. Now I'm doing a security job.

"The British Army, they spent lots of money on us. But now I don't know why the MoD are ignoring us."

"We should be getting these people into our armed forces," Mr Tugendhat, the MP for Tonbridge said.

"They're hugely skilled, they're highly motivated, and we know they're loyal because they have proved their loyalty in the toughest and most dangerous situations.

"So getting them into our armed forces would be good for us. It would also be good for them. It would give them, quite rightly, the role that they want to have in our society.

"This is something that should have been delivered at the time and should be delivered now. It's been overlooked for too long.

"There are some exceptionally talented people, many of whom I either trained alongside or fought alongside for several years in Afghanistan, and frankly, the MoD has really let itself down on this."

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told LBC: “This Government has committed to ensuring that all Afghans who have relocated to the UK under the ARAP scheme are supported to build their new lives.

“New arrivals on the Afghan Resettlement Programme (which includes ARAP) are provided with transitional accommodation for up to 9 months, during which time they receive support to help them secure their own long-term accommodation. The Government is also taking measures to minimise homelessness presentations under the ARP.

"Afghans who have been relocated under this scheme are entitled to work and can access a range of employment support. Those who obtain British citizenship can apply for roles in the military, provided they meet other necessary criteria including age requirements, education specifications and medical standards.”

To be eligible to apply to join the UK Armed Forces an individual must be a British (British Citizen, British Overseas Citizen, British Overseas Territory Citizen, British National (Overseas) Citizen, British Protected Person or British Subject) Irish or a Commonwealth Citizen. This can be as a sole or dual national. The British Army also has the Brigade of Gurkhas who are from Nepal.