Let us finish the job of caring for the Afghan heroes who served with our troops.

A The new British Government's decision is an opportunity to reset the country's policy towards the brave Afghans who served alongside our armed forces before international troops withdrew from Kabul three years ago this month.

A campaign by The Independent had already secured the right to remain in Britain for the Afghan pilot, who had served alongside British and American forces, last year, but he had been denied a place in the government's resettlement program.

The air force lieutenant, who fled the Taliban and came to Britain on a small boat because it was “impossible” to get here legally, was denied asylum – sparking the anger of politicians and military leaders who called it “shameful”.

In August 2023, he was finally granted permission to stay, but this was only a partial victory as his wife and young daughter remained stranded in Iran.

After a persistent campaign by The IndependentSupported by our readers, the family is finally reunited as his wife and three-year-old daughter were granted residency in the UK earlier this month.

When our reporter interviewed the family, the pilot's wife said she hoped to learn English and resume her work as a midwife. Through her husband as an interpreter, she spoke and told The Independent: “The Taliban have closed schools for women, but here every woman can choose what she wants to study. Nobody can stop her. I have heard such things.”

We are proud of our contribution in enabling this family to start a new life and we call on the new government to finish its job by assuming its responsibility towards the relatively small number of Afghans who clearly deserve our protection but who have so far been denied it, often for trivial and bureaucratic reasons.

We call on the new Defence Secretary, John Healey, to look again at the cases of Afghans who fought alongside British forces and are now stuck in asylum hotels in this country or in unsafe accommodation in Iran or Pakistan. Those already here should be granted leave to remain so they can work and contribute to British society, which they do willingly and happily. Those who have managed to escape Afghanistan but are stuck in third countries should be brought here without delay – in many cases the British authorities have already recognised that they served in our forces and yet their cases are bogged down in bureaucratic red tape.

The Conservative government was allergic to anything that seemed to be “soft” on immigration policy, and so for many of these brave people the path to a new life in Britain was made even more arduous by petty delays and grudging acceptance. This was a scandalous and short-sighted policy. There is nothing “soft” about this country honouring its obligations to those who were prepared to take the greatest risks as allies.

Let us hope that the new government, which claims to understand the essence of true patriotism, will fulfil these obligations with enthusiasm and to the full.