The veterans minister has met Afghan troops whose personal details were leaked ahead of an expected compensation deal.
Al Carns staged talks with former Special Forces soldiers on Saturday before formal negotiations around payouts begin.
The meetings with the ‘Triples’ – a name derived from the code numbers of their units – took place at an Afghan community festival in Birmingham.
According to legal sources, defence chiefs intend to make an offer to the Triples to settle out of court, in a bid to cut out law firms.
Direct payments from the UK Government to the Afghans of around £20,000 have been mentioned.
Mr Carns, a former Royal Marines officer who served with some of the Triples in Afghanistan, said it was ‘great to sit down with some of my Afghan friends’.
He added: ‘We talked about how they’re finding life in the UK, mental health and importantly how many would be interested in serving again in one form or another.’
Ministers have pledged to play hardball in a bid to reduce the costs of the leak.
The veterans minister has met Afghan troops whose personal details were leaked ahead of an expected compensation deal. Pictured: File photo of Afghan special forces
Al Carns (pictured in October last year) staged talks with former Special Forces soldiers on Saturday before formal negotiations around payouts begin
Mr Carns (pictured speaking with British Army personnel in October last year), a former Royal Marines officer who served with some of the Triples in Afghanistan, said it was ‘great to sit down with some of my Afghan friends’
At one point ministers signed off an estimate of £7billion, which they say includes all the Government’s Afghan schemes.
Law firms such as Manchester-based Barings Law are confident they can obtain much more than £20,000 on their clients’ behalf.
The firm’s Adnan Malik said: ‘The Government claims they will not be paying compensation but are trying to make a secret agreement. ‘
The Ministry of Defence said: ‘Throughout our relocations scheme, we are honouring the commitment to those brave Afghans that supported the UK mission.
‘While we are not able to commit to a timeline, the Triples review absolutely remains a priority.’
