The UK accidentally evacuated someone on its no-fly list from Afghanistan, but is now letting them go
- The UK found that someone evacuated from Afghanistan was on its no-fly list.
- It said after checks that they were not a person of interest and could enter the country.
- The defense minister said being on the no-fly list may just mean checks were needed on the person.
The UK accidentally evacuated someone who was on its n0-fly list from Afghanistan, but later said it deemed the person safe enough to enter the country.
Government officials confirmed that the person, who was not named, was flown from Kabul to Birmingham, England, where they were flagged as being a part of the no-fly list, the BBC reported.
That person was then investigated and officials decided they were not a person of interest, and allowed them to enter the country, according to the BBC.
Ben Wallace, the UK's defense minister, told Sky News on Tuesday that the person's being on the list did not mean they posed a threat.
"We call it generically the n0-fly list. But it has many sub-divisions. It could be that this individual - and this is speculation about this particular individual - but it could be it's 'no fly until they're checked.' It could be that there are lots of different conditions before they fly," he said.
"It's not necessarily, 'you are that dangerous you can't come on airplanes.' It may be, just check who they're flying with before they get on a plane."
Thousands of people - including foreign nationals, and Afghans who helped western militaries and now fear retribution from the Taliban - have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the Taliban's takeover on August 15.
The UK Ministry of Defence said 7,109 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan on UK flights since August 13, the BBC reported.