Labour has hit out at the government’s Afghan resettlement programme, suggesting the number of refugees being accepted is too low and the process too slow.
This comes after ministers announced that the UK will take 20,000 people from Afghanistan, 5,000 of whom will arrive this year.
Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, Labour MP Chris Bryant criticised the scope of the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme, which was announced after Kabul fell to the Taliban on Sunday.
The backbencher called into question the safety of those who will not reach the UK this year. “What are the 15,000 meant to do? Hang around and wait until they have been executed?” he asked the prime minister.
In response, Boris Johnson claimed Britain was playing its part in the unfolding humanitarian crisis. He later added that an additional 5,000 refugees would come to Britain this year under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap), a separate initiative helping local allies.
However, the government does not have the backing of all its MPs, with former defence minister Tobias Ellwood describing the new scheme as “woefully inadequate”.
The Bournemouth East MP told the Daily Mirror that ministers needed to acknowledge responsibility for events in Afghanistan and understand the scale of the crisis. “We are capping the numbers to 5,000 for the first year, when the threat is at its greatest,” he said.
Opposition parties were also quick to criticise the government for its immigration plan. Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said it risked leaving people in “deadly danger”, while the Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey urged Mr Johnson to increase the offer.
Meanwhile, Ian Blackford, the SNP’s leader in Westminster, said the government should welcome 40,000 Afghan refugees, double the current target.
Concerns have also been expressed about the level of support Afghan refugees will receive when they arrive in Britain.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said on Tuesday that his area would not turn its back on those in need.”
“But what we are going to do is to continue to make the case that actually, if we’re really a caring country, we need to make sure we put the proper resources and systems in to be able to support these people very quickly, get them out of hotels and get them into homes,” he said.
