The first Iraqi interpreters to be offered refuge in Britain are living in fear in squalid tower blocks in Glasgow, The Times has learnt.

They complained of living among drunks and drug addicts, being abused and spat at, and of feeling isolated and unable to work. One girl of 9 had had her hijab torn off by one of her new neighbours.

Abdul, 71, one of three Iraqis who risked their lives working for British troops in Basra and were resettled in April with 15 dependents, advised others in a similar position to stay in Iraq.

The Government decided to offer sanctuary to some of the hundreds of Iraqis who have helped British Forces after their plight was highlighted by The Times. In Iraq they are regarded by extremists as traitors and many have been targeted by death squads.

Hundreds of Iraq interpreters rebuffed by UK

Nearly half of applications to settle in Britain have been rejected by the MoD already despite safety fears

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• Video: the online war

• Pictures: Life in Iraq

BACKGROUND

• Story of brothers who worked for the British

• I’ve no regrets, says interpreter

• What’s Arabic for ‘we’ll stand by you’?

• Abandoned: the 91 Iraqis who risked all

Related Links

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• Analysis: Other nations show the way

• Interpreters fear they’ve been forgotten

Multimedia

• An interpreter gives his story

Former defence chiefs and politicians from all parties attacked the handling of their relocation as “shaming” yesterday and said that Iraqi interpreters and other locally engaged staff deserved better treatment.

“These people have risked their lives for our troops in Iraq and to be treated like this is shaming,” General Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank said. He was head of the Army from 1994 to 1997 and then promoted to Chief of the Defence Staff until 2001.

“Resettlement is always a difficult subject but these interpreters served us in Iraq, disregarding their own safety. Some of them will undoubtedly have saved British lives and it must be miserable for them to live in these conditions,” General Guthrie said. “It’s a great pity, it’s a terrible situation.”

His disappointment was shared by Field Marshal Lord Inge, who was Lord Guthrie’s predecessor, serving as Chief of the Defence Staff from 1994 to 1997. “It seems we’re not very good as a nation in dealing with these situations,” Lord Inge said.

Sir Menzies Campbell, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “Our moral obligation to these people extends beyond putting them in poor housing with inadequate financial support. They and their families risked their lives daily to help to further the interests of Britain in Iraq. I was strongly opposed to the military action but I have no doubt whatsoever that we owe these families much more than we seem to be giving them.”

William Hague, Shadow Foreign Secretary, said: “These Iraqis have been offered refuge in Britain because they risked their lives for Britain. We should therefore ensure that they are given support, assistance and encouragement and a real chance of rebuilding their lives in safety.”

The Ministry of Defence was reluctant initially to offer interpreters and their families a new life in Britain because of the precedent that it might set. But they eventually bowed to pressure, although the scheme set up by officials has been criticised as hugely bureaucratic and designed to deter them from coming.

Mike Gapes, chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said he was “most concerned” to hear of the living conditions endured by the first group to be resettled. “The Foreign Office and the Government need to explain why this has happened and remedy it,” he said.

Andrew MacKinlay, a Labour member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, is to table parliamentary questions about the compensation package. He said: “I’m concerned that they just may have been left to fend for themselves.”

Patrick Mercer, Tory MP for Newark, said: “I know there are limits. The Iraqis would not expect to live in a palace. But it doesn’t sound as if they have been given a fair crack of the whip. I’m sure there are a lot of illegal immigrants who get a better deal than these people who have served our Armed Forces in Iraq, and placed their lives at risk on our behalf.”

David Lidington, a Tory foreign affairs spokesman, who backed the campaign by The Times last year to allow the Iraqi interpreters a new life in Britain, said: “This is a scandalous way to treat men who risked their lives to help our troops.”

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