AN investigation is under way after eight Iraqi interpreters claimed they are living in fear for their lives after being abandoned by the Ministry of Defence.

The SNP’s defence spokesperson at Westminster, Stewart McDonald, said if the probe finds the men are being targeted because of their work for the British Army, the UK Government must move swiftly to protect them and their families.

The translators contacted us with their story, which goes back to December 2018 when they were “honoured” to be recruited to work alongside “the best team we ever had” with the Army.

One told us: “We committed to working with the team with a high [sense of] responsibility. I remember my first day they told us ‘welcome to the family’, and it felt like it.”

The men, whose anonymity we are protecting, worked with the QkTT, a special forces training team in Iraq, the UK Training Team (UKTT) and Special Operations Advisory Team (SOAT) within the global coalition forces in the country to combat Daesh. They were employed through a global defence contractor which hired a local firm to pay their salaries.

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“This kind of job in a country like Iraq is really dangerous, so we worked as invisible men, always changing our time and place of meeting for arrival and departure when travelling from home to work and vice-versa,” our source said.

Even their families were kept in the dark for their own safety, but everything changed at the beginning of last year when the US assassinated Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a senior Iraqi militia leader.

Iraq introduced a new type of security pass called PMNOC (Prime Minister Notice of Compliance) for all civilians working with coalition forces, for which the men had to submit their personal details – name, ID numbers, vehicle details and the route they took from the camp to their homes.

“The coalition said they would not share our information with the Iraqi (IQ) government,” said another interpreter. “But they circulated our details to all checkpoints throughout Baghdad and many of these are jointly run with popular mobilisation forces (PMF), the legal name for these militias, and many of the IQ government and security service members. So every one of them knows all our info because of this PMNOC.”

One militia called Ashab al-Kahf, which targeted coalition camps several times, then circulated their personal details and called on all workers with the coalition to cooperate and provide them with information, the hidden message being “if you refuse, we will consider you our enemy”.

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With that, the men all adopted a nomadic existence, staying in different places away from their families.

One told us: “It has been more than two months since I last saw my wife and my 11-year-old son. Three weeks ago a colleague’s wife found an envelope with a threatening message and three bullets as a sign of three family members – to eliminate them, so he left everything behind and has taken his family far away to keep them safe. No one can stop them because they control the government. Who will hold them accountable for killing us?”

He added: “Four days ago, the MoD contacted us to investigate, but it will take a long time and we don’t have it here. Our time is running out and we’re going to lose our lives and our families’ lives. All we are looking for is a safe place for us, our families … what would you do to keep your family safe?”

A MoD spokesperson said: “While we do not employ interpreters in Iraq directly, we take any breach of personal security extremely seriously. We hold our contractors to the highest standards and are currently investigating the allegations.”

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McDonald told The National: “I am deeply concerned that both the Ministry of Defence and a Government minister presaged their response to this urgent case with a reference to the interpreters’ employment contracts. The British Army may subcontract its interpreting work, but it cannot outsource its responsibilities to people who have put their lives – and those of their families – in danger to assist UK personnel.

“If an investigation finds that these interpreters are being targeted because of their work for the British Army then the UK Government must act swiftly to protect them and their families, regardless of their employment status.

“Outdated Home Office guidance still maintains that Iraqi interpreters face a low risk of violence, despite the case of these eight men showing that this is plainly no longer true.

“The Home Office must urgently update their risk assessment so that those interpreters who want a UK visa are able to obtain one.”