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UK to announce details of new resettlement scheme for Afghan refugees
The BBC reported Downing Street has confirmed, details of a new resettlement scheme for Afghan refugees are to be announced soon.
According to the BBC, no 10 said that the new scheme will be aimed at helping those most in need, including women and girls, come to the UK.
The new scheme comes after the Taliban seized control of capital city Kabul, prompting thousands to try to flee.
The BBC said that on Monday evening, the Home Office said the UK had admitted more than 3,300 Afghan interpreters, staff and their families to the UK for resettlement.
The Home Office said "it will be guided by the capacity of local authorities" when deciding how many Afghan refugees to allow to settle in the UK after the Taliban seized power.
The BBC added, a Downing Street spokeswoman said the UK team was "working around the clock in incredibly difficult circumstances to help British nationals and as many others as we can get to safety as soon as possible".
She added that it was "in everyone's interest not to let Afghanistan fail".
"That means providing whatever support we can to the Afghan people who have worked so hard to make the country a better place over the last 20 years and who are now in need of our help."
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said earlier that the UK was "looking very carefully at what kind of further commitment we might make", before adding that the UK was a "big-hearted nation".
According to sources, the BBC has been told the new resettlement scheme will be similar to that used to help Syrian refugees in 2014.
It should be noted that most Afghan nationals currently eligible for relocation to the UK are those who have worked for the British government in frontline roles "that made a material difference to the delivery of the UK mission" in the country.
Citing MoD, the BBC reported this group includes interpreters as well as cultural advisers and embassy staff. Others eligible are those deemed to be at high and imminent risk.
Source: BBC
