Afghan actors 'were in UK illegally'

28 July 2011

Two Afghan nationals hired by an MoD contractor to portray villagers at a UK training camp have been arrested on suspicion of being in the country illegally.

The men, aged 19 and 24, were arrested at Rollestone Camp on Salisbury Plain on Tuesday, according to the UK Border Agency. They were among 200 people whose immigration status was checked in a 12-hour raid.

One of the men was said to have overstayed his visa while the other had had his asylum claim rejected.

Both are now being held at Salisbury police station as moves to have them deported are prepared.

The MoD police said neither man was directly employed by the Ministry of Defence "nor did they have access to any sensitive MoD facilities, equipment or information".

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "MoD police in conjunction with the UK Border Agency have carried out an intelligence led operation on Salisbury Plain.

"Officers arrested two people on suspicion of immigration offences. They were taken to a nearby police station and handed over to the UK Border Agency."