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Speaker 1: Gavin Gray's our UK correspondent, Gavin, Welcome to the show.

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Speaker 1: Hi there, Rak, who's taking responsibility for this lake of

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Speaker 1: the thousands and thousands of names of Afghans who applied

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Speaker 1: to move to the UK when the Teleban took over

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Speaker 1: back in twenty twenty two.

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Speaker 2: Somebody from the Ministry of Defense. But we're not being

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Speaker 2: told a name, we're not actually being told what's happened

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Speaker 2: to that person. And it's caused a great deal of anger.

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Speaker 2: So we've learned this week because a gagging order, a

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Speaker 2: court gagging order preventing any publication of this story has

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Speaker 2: just been rescinded. And we've only learned this week that

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Speaker 2: somebody accidentally emailed a spreadsheet of names of those in

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Speaker 2: Afghanistan who had applied to become to the UK. As

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Speaker 2: you said, the Taliban, of course took over very very quickly,

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Speaker 2: chaotic scenes, and there were some in Afghanistan who had

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Speaker 2: helped British troops the Allied forces by either translating or

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Speaker 2: by no doubts that are spying within communityies with information.

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Speaker 2: And those people, of course naturally feared for their life

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Speaker 2: when the Taliban took over. Now they applied and it

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Speaker 2: appeared the government had been playing hardball with this, and

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Speaker 2: yet now we learn that actually somebody had emailed this

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Speaker 2: spreadsheet out and then the government decided, well, it was

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Speaker 2: only fair that everyone virtually on that spreadsheet should be

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Speaker 2: allowed to come to the UK, because of course that

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Speaker 2: had put their lives at risk. Details are well. Nearly

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Speaker 2: nineteen thousand had applied to move to the UK. The

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Speaker 2: previous government learned of the breach in August twenty twenty

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Speaker 2: three when some of the details appeared on Facebook. A

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Speaker 2: new resettlement scheme for those on the list was set

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Speaker 2: up nine months later. Four and a half thousand arrived

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Speaker 2: in the UK so far, but it is estimated that

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Speaker 2: there are at least another two and a half thousand

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Speaker 2: still in Afghanistan. The scheme is being closed down. The

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Speaker 2: cost so far has been eight hundred and fifty new

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Speaker 2: million New Zealand dollars. It's likely to cost double that

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Speaker 2: in the end, and still no response as to who

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Speaker 2: did this, whether they're still in their job. Quite extraordinary.

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Speaker 1: Certainly is given. And more than a million people in

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Speaker 1: the UK receiving benefits were born overseas.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, this has been a really really interesting way both

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Speaker 2: in which this has been reported, but also in the

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Speaker 2: figures themselves. So it's long been questioned by those, particularly

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Speaker 2: anti immigration, those on the right, those trying to save

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Speaker 2: the UK money, saying, look, how much of our benefits

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Speaker 2: bill is going to those who were born in the

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Speaker 2: UK and how much is either going to refugees, asylum

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Speaker 2: seekers those who have come into the UK were Now

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Speaker 2: the answers are out. In June, nearly eight million people

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Speaker 2: received Universal Credit that is like a top up to

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Speaker 2: help people both employed and unemployed people with living costs,

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Speaker 2: and eighty three percent were British and Irish nationals. Now,

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Speaker 2: when you strip that down, more than one million claimants

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Speaker 2: were born overseas, and that includes seven hundred thousand European

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Speaker 2: Union citizens who arrived in the UK before Brexit but

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Speaker 2: have the right to remain and live and work in

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Speaker 2: the UK. At one point five percent of claimants for refugees,

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Speaker 2: and seventy five thousand claimants who are in the UK

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Speaker 2: temporarily and would typically not be able to receive benefits.

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Speaker 2: I'll also claim in this particular benefit. So you could

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Speaker 2: look at this and say, oh, well, you know eighty

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Speaker 2: three percent are British and Irish nationals. First of all,

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Speaker 2: why are Irish nationals getting it? Some people, I think

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Speaker 2: we'll ask, But also why are so many people who

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Speaker 2: weren't burned in the UK allowed to claim this? And

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Speaker 2: it is a huge sum of money that is going

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Speaker 2: out in benefits. We've had the big row here over

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Speaker 2: of course that benefits build a government trying to reduce it,

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Speaker 2: and now that's been overturned by its own MPs. And

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Speaker 2: many people just think we've got to get a grip

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Speaker 2: on this before it spirals even and further out of control.

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Speaker 1: Is the proportion you know, is a proportion of the population.

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Speaker 1: Are they the refugees or the immigrants getting more than

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Speaker 1: you know, what I'm saying is a proportion of the

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Speaker 1: population Or is anyone saying yeah, it's out of wack.

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Speaker 2: Well, these figures are slightly askew because to get universal

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Speaker 2: credit you can also be working, but in a low

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Speaker 2: paid job, and what the many migrants have low paid jobs,

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Speaker 2: so you know, it's very difficult to draw out.

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Speaker 1: We need more.

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Speaker 2: Precise figures from the government and I think that's going

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Speaker 2: to be very difficult to get out of them.

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Speaker 1: I saw the story this morning. It's made headlines here

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Speaker 1: in New Zealand, the Weig girl who was wearing a

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Speaker 1: Union Jet Spy skill dress, Union Jet dress and was

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Speaker 1: kicked out of school.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, quite extraordinary. This So this was actually at a

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Speaker 2: school culture celebration day, so all the children were encouraged

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Speaker 2: to dress in a way in which it reflected a

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Speaker 2: culture that they wanted to highlight. And of course, you

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Speaker 2: know there were lots of being in Rugby in the Midlands,

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Speaker 2: lots of different ethnic representations. There one girl who is

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Speaker 2: British and a twelve year old turned up wearing a

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Speaker 2: Union Jack dress like if you remember, one of the

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Speaker 2: Spice girls, and also wanted to give a speech as

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Speaker 2: part of that culture celebration day, to give her speech

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Speaker 2: about being British, after all we do live in Britain,

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Speaker 2: but she was denied and sent home. The school has

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Speaker 2: since apologized and said it was a bit of a misunderstanding.

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Speaker 2: Offerer and sirius sincere and unreserved apologies. But now campaign's

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Speaker 2: grown for the head teacher to be kicked out. And this,

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Speaker 2: I'm afraid is a long line. The last and long

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Speaker 2: line of stories ride where people have turned up at

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Speaker 2: events that are supposed to celebrate culture in all its forms,

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Speaker 2: and yet seem to be a shame to be British.

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Speaker 2: When it comes to it, I dare say it is

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Speaker 2: the stigma attached to some elements of the population by

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Speaker 2: the British flag. The Union Flag represents at times far right.

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Speaker 2: It said, But really this does seem absolutely extraordinary. And

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Speaker 2: this only made the news because the father and the

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Speaker 2: daughter just thought this is a bit unfair and put

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Speaker 2: it on Facebook, having had to pick his daughter up

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Speaker 2: early somewhat in disgrace away. The school now wants her

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Speaker 2: to give her speech to the whole of the school.

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Speaker 2: But I don't think that really addresses what's at fault here.

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Speaker 1: No it doesn't. You're quite right, Gevin. Thank you for that.

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Speaker 1: Kevin Gray are UK correspondent.

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