Afghans given asylum in the UK following a mass data leak are being prioritised for housing over former soldiers, veterans have warned.
A spreadsheet containing the personal details of some 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan resettlement scheme was released "in error" in February 2022 by a defence official, which the Ministry of Defence (MoD) discovered in August 2023.
Asylum seekers can become eligible for council housing after just nine months in the UK.
And as revealed by court documents, Afghans have been sent to Aberdeen in Scotland, Bracknell in Berkshire, Cardiff in Wales, Preston in Lancashire, West Sussex and Yorkshire.
Under the Armed Forces Covenant, both the Government and local authorities are committed to helping military families - including veterans - gain access to housing, healthcare and education.
But in light of the leak, veterans have voiced fears that the arrival of thousands of Afghans could hinder their efforts to find secure accommodation.
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|PICTURED: A member of the British Armed Forces' 16 Air Assault Brigade disembarks a RAF Voyager aircraft after returning from Kabul in 2021
Terry Reed, who runs the charity Boxing for Veterans, said: "I think [Afghans] should get help, especially the ones that have assisted the UK forces, because some of their intelligence would have saved lives.
"But I still think our veterans should get first priority. A lot of veterans do feel let down."
His vow that the Afghans deserve British support is mirrored by other veterans - including George Ford, who opened up on his own housing ordeal to GB News last month.
Ford, a Parachute Regiment veteran, was shot on a tour of Afghanistan and has suffered from PTSD.
But he told the People's Channel that he felt "degraded" by Bracknell Forest Council after falling behind in the queue for emergency accommodation to the Afghan Refugee Scheme.
"I was stabbed in the back, I got resuscitated... And I said this is enough, I needed some help. I went to my local authority, and they just point blank denied the Armed Forces Covenant even being signed," he said.
"They said even if we did sign it, it wasn't going to get me anywhere."
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GEORGE FORD
| Ford was shot on a tour of Afghanistan and began suffering from severe PTSDWATCH: Army veteran George Ford accuses his council of prioritising refugees for housing
Also in Bracknell, independent councillor John Edwards said veterans unable to secure housing felt "betrayed", alongside other locals in need.
"Anyone who served our Armed Forces, including Afghans, should be entitled to sanctuary here," he said.
"My criticism is the policy not the people, they should be treated with the utmost respect and dignity, but there clearly isn't enough infrastructure here for residents or veterans, so these schemes need to be thought about."
Edwards added that he did not believe resettled Afghans were actually being pushed ahead - but warned that the concept of veterans going homeless is not fair in itself.
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|PICTURED: A US Air Force aircraft takes off from the airport in Kabul amid the 2021 Afghanistan evacuation
At one point under the scheme, as much as a fifth of all MoD property - primarily houses built for serving personnel - was ring-fenced to house the Afghans.
Hundreds were housed at Cameron Barracks, just outside Inverness, until May this year.
And in the Highland Capital, Councillor Duncan McDonald, a former British Army major who served in Afghanistan, claimed that Afghan refugees had been prioritised ahead of veterans.
"I think there is every reason to believe that has happened," McDonald warned. "The refugees had a different status.
"There is a big housing shortage in the Highlands for everyone. I would like to see veterans given more priority, but I do understand the difficulty of that."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "This Government is committed to renewing the nation's contract with those who have served and is delivering at pace on veterans' housing; including removing the local connection requirement for veterans seeking social housing in England and [providing] an extra £3.5million for homelessness services.
"The Prime Minister announced new legislation to put the Armed Forces community, including veterans, at the heart of government decision-making.
"And we are creating Op Valour, a first-of-its-kind, UK-wide support system, to ensure veterans have access to joined-up health, housing and employment services, regardless of where they live."