An interpreter who worked for the British Army in Afghanistan has killed himself after being told he did not qualify for asylum in the UK and would be deported.

Fellow translators said Nangyalai Dawoodzai was ‘deeply depressed’ about the threat of being thrown out of the UK despite working with British forces in war-ravaged Helmand province, and that he had spoken of suicide.

Lord Ashdown, who champions the cause of the translators, said: ‘This is the most tragic example of a shameful Government policy.’

Fellow translators said Nangyalai Dawoodzai was ‘deeply depressed’ about the threat of being thrown out of the UK despite working with British forces in war-ravaged Helmand province (pictured)

Dawoodzai, 29, paid people smugglers to reach the UK after receiving Taliban death threats in his homeland. But he was told he could not stay in Britain because he had been fingerprinted in Italy and had to claim political asylum there, his point of entry to Europe.

The Daily Mail’s Betrayal of the Brave campaign has highlighted the plight of former frontline translators who remained in Afghanistan after UK forces left and have been targeted by the Taliban because of their service.

The campaign – supported by a petition signed by nearly 180,000 people, including military chiefs, soldiers and MPs – has revealed how interpreters have been shot dead or beaten. Their homes have been attacked and their children kidnapped and murdered.

MEN WHO HELPED SAVE BRITISH LIVES, BUT NOW CAN'T GET ASYLUM Fazel Dijilane Nangyalai Dawoodzai’s tragic case is not the first time the Government has turned its back on Afghan interpreters who helped protect our soldiers. Fazel Dijilane, 23, who was injured by a bomb while working for the British Army in Afghanistan, was revealed to be sleeping rough in the Calais Jungle in January. An Afghan interpreter known only as Ahmed had his asylum claim rejected after a judge ruled it was safe for him to go back to Kabul. Another Afghan military interpreter known as Popal by British troops was executed as he tried to reach the West after he was denied refuge by Britain. Interpreter Aslam Yousaf Zai was refused asylum despite believing that the Taliban would murder him and his family if he returned to Afghanistan. A 26-year-old interpreter known as ‘Chris’ by British troops was targeted by Taliban hitmen after he was refused asylum in Britain. He and his two-year-old son were shot but survived. Advertisement

Yesterday one ex-translator, who shared a hostel with Dawoodzai in Birmingham, said: ‘He was depressed and very down. He said his life was at risk and no one cared… he believed that Britain would help him because he had helped them. Now he has killed himself – it is so desperate.’

West Midlands Police confirmed yesterday that they had been called to an address in West Bromwich last Wednesday night where a man was pronounced dead at the scene. The death is not being treated as suspicious.

The disturbing case comes as at least three other interpreters who served UK forces on the frontlines face being kicked out of Britain because they were fingerprinted in Hungary, Bulgaria and Austria. One has spoken of taking his own life rather than leaving.

Lord Ashdown said: ‘These people will have been at the frontline day in, day out, with no break for years. Given the way they have been treated, who in the future will ever offer to be an interpreter to help British soldiers do their job when we treat those who have served our troops so scandalously?’

Dr Julian Lewis, chairman of the Commons defence select committee, added: ‘Many people will share my bafflement and concern that we seem unable to get rid of people who mean us harm and unwilling to take people who have served us loyally. If the facts of this case are as stated I hope that the defence committee will agree to press the UK authorities to take a more generous and enlightened attitude towards our former interpreters.’

The interpreter who shared a hostel with Dawoodzai said he had told him he had worked for three years with British forces based at the giant Camp Bastion base. The two men met a year ago and Dawoodzai said he had come from Kabul with the help of people smugglers, travelling via Turkey and Italy to the UK. ‘He said he had to leave after death threats.’

Dawoodzai told the man he had claimed asylum, but was arrested after it was discovered he had been fingerprinted in Italy and was told he would be returned there. He said he was held for 18 days at a Home Office detention centre before being released to live in the hostel while paperwork was processed.

Dawoodzai, 29, paid people smugglers to reach the UK after receiving Taliban death threats in his homeland (file image of Helmand province)

The Daily Mail’s Betrayal of the Brave campaign has highlighted the plight of former frontline translators who remained in Afghanistan after UK forces left and have been targeted by the Taliban because of their service (file image of Helmand province)

Rafi, a former translator who has asylum in the UK, helps co-ordinate work to support his former colleagues. He said he had received a telephone call from Dawoodzai a month ago and he had seemed ‘extremely depressed’. He added: ‘It is very hard to be told that the country that you were a friend of and whose soldiers you risked your life for is in fact not your friend and wants to throw you out.

‘Meanwhile, Britain lets in hundreds who have done nothing for them. The treatment is disgusting.’ Despite calls to let hundreds of Afghan interpreters into Britain under an intimidation scheme, David Cameron has refused.

The Ministry of Defence says the educated Afghans are needed to rebuild their war-torn country – but many of them have rubbished these claims, saying they face attacks by the Taliban and cannot work.

A Home Office spokesman said: 'We are very saddened by this tragic case. As investigations are continuing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.'