Slamming the door

Not for the first time in the last five years, I’m ashamed to be British. Aslam Yousaf Zai started working for British troops in Afghanistan in 2009, when he was 25. Dangerous work for an Afghan, because he and his family keep getting threats from the Taliban. One of his friends worked as an interpreter for foreign soldiers, but was killed after he left the job. Zai thinks he’s in serious danger, and has asked for asylum here – which seems only fair, since we’ve created the situation which threatens him. But no, the Home Office has a better grasp of the Afghan situation than he does, and tells him to go home because he’s not at risk. Thank you and good night.