St Lucian soldier “Betrayed” by British Army
A St Lucian man who fought for the British army says he feels betrayed after being refused UK citizenship.
Rogers JnBaptiste served more than four years alongside British forces, including two tours in Iraq.
But he has been told that he can't become a British citizen because he applied on the wrong date.
JnBaptiste made his application this January.
According to a BBC report, to qualify he had to have been present in the UK on the same date five years earlier.
However, at that time he was actually serving on a British base in Germany. He was in British uniform but not on British soil.
JnBaptiste now works as a police community support officer. Recently he was injured trying to detain a suspected robber.
He says he feels betrayed by the British government.
The British Home Office points out that he does have indefinite leave to remain so can live and work in the UK until he's able to apply again in 2011.
But Mr. JnBaptiste says without a British passport he can't travel freely outside the UK.
More than this the refusal is, in his words, "a slap in the face," he told the BBC.
The news comes as the British army prepares to recruit young St Lucians to ease a shortage of soldiers.
A delegation from the army is currently on the island preparing for the official recruitment drive due to get underway sometime in May.