The former head of the Army yesterday urged Afghanistan war veterans and members of the public to sign a petition calling for interpreters to be given refuge in Britain.

In a powerful letter sent out to hundreds of former soldiers, General Sir Richard Dannatt said he was ‘speaking up for those who stood alongside our soldiers’.

Sir Richard, who was head of the Army when British troops served in Afghanistan, said the UK could ‘not have done the job without them’. He said Britain had a ‘moral obligation’ to look after Afghan interpreters and could not simply ‘walk away’ and leave them in the clutches of the Taliban.

General Sir Richard Dannatt, who has called for veterans and members of the public to sign a petition to allow Afghan interpreters to be given refuge in Britian

More than 50,000 people have signed the petition calling David Cameron to give a safe haven to interpreters who served alongside UK troops since it was launched on Monday.

MPs, generals, decorated war heroes and grieving families are among those who have signed so far.Ordinary soldiers have also called for a change of policy, saying they have been ‘ashamed’ by the inaction.

More than 100,000 signatures should force a Commons debate on the issue. The Daily Mail’s Betrayal of the Brave campaign is also calling for all Afghan translators who served with our forces to be given refuge in the UK. Under current rules, many do not qualify.

PETITION CALLING FOR ALL AFGHAN TRANSLATORS TO BE GRANTED ASYLUM IN UK LAUNCHED Once a petition has 100,000 signatures it must be debated by ministers in the Commons. A petition launched on Monday calls for all Afghan translators who served with British troops to be granted asylum in the UK. General Sir Richard Dannatt, Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher, RAF Navigator John Nichol, Labour MP John Woodcock, Major Charles Heyman, and Ian Wright, the father of a Royal Marine who was killed in Afghanistan, have all signed the petition and called for soldiers and members of the public to do so. To sign the petition please click here. Advertisement

Some have been killed or tortured or seen their families attacked and threatened by Taliban fanatics.

The petition is being organised by Major James Driscoll, whose Afghan interpreter’s family were killed by insurgents. Baryalai Shams lives in Germany because Britain rejected his pleas for help.

Appealing to soldiers who served alongside the translators in war zones, Sir Richard wrote: ‘Afghanistan interpreters went on patrols with our troops and enabled them to communicate with the local people. We could not have done the job without them.

‘That’s why I’m asking you to support this petition started by an Afghanistan veteran, calling for Afghan interpreters to be given protection by the British Government.’

Sir Richard said the UK had a ‘moral obligation’ to look after interpreters, adding: ‘They often wore our uniforms. If they feel once we have left their country, that they cannot assume their normal lives because of fear having worked for British forces, then it is our obligation to have them in this country.

‘We cannot leave and walk away and leave them to it, we owe them far more than that.’ He said that was why he had signed the petition, adding: ‘I urge you to do the same.’

Some Afgan interpreters who worked for the British Army have spoken out about how they are now under threat from the Taliban

Those who have signed include Lance Corporal Matt Croucher, a George Cross recipient, Sir Michael Graydon, former head of the RAF, Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded our forces in Afghanistan, and Vice-Admiral Sir Jeremy Blackman.

Ian Wright, whose son Gary was killed in Afghanistan in October 2006, has signed the petition, along with his wife. Major Charles Heyman, John Nichol, a former RAF navigator, and Labour MP John Woodcock have also all signed.

A Government spokesman said: ‘Every claim of intimidation is investigated professionally and thoroughly by the UK’s permanent expert in-country team.’

■The town of Musa Qala, which was a key outpost for British troops in Afghanistan, has fallen to the Taliban. Last night an Afghan defence spokesman said: ‘An operation is ongoing to retake the district.’