"What was the point?"; Weymouth Afghanistan veteran

Andy Price says many like him are questioning the point after the decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan.

Author: George Sharpe

A Weymouth war veteran says the decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan will make British soldiers question their service there.

Andy Price did three tours in the country which is now controlled by the Taliban and served 3 years as a private contractor there.

One of those tours was in the capital, Kabul.

Andy told Greatest Hits Radio Dorset:

"I was there in 2004 when the first British serviceman was killed. He was a good friend of mine. A lot of us are asking the question if we were just going to leave Afghanistan to be overrun by the Taliban, which is effectively what has happened, what was the point of us being there in the first place?"

Andy says he now fears for women and children in country.

“I was working at ground level with local nationals, local governance.

“I got to know the culture, meet people out there, I got to understand their aspirations. What the women and children must be feeling now, I have absolutely no idea.”

Andy now runs the Veterans Hub in Weymouth, supporting ex-service personnel and their families.

“There is a large percentage of men and women who come in here the hub who have been to Afghanistan. A certain percentage of them have mental health problems and physical injuries from there. They are now going to be saying what was the point of that?

“I have had friends who after Afghanistan have taken their own lives because they are unable to cope with what happened out there.”

“And now we have just cut and run.”

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is drawing up a resettlement scheme for those "most in need" in Afghanistan.

He is said to be finalising details which will help Afghans claim asylum in the UK.

There are no details yet on how many will be allowed in.

First for all the latest news from across the UK every hour on Hits Radio on DAB, at hitsradio.co.uk and on the Rayo app.