UK Government Ignores Afghan Refugees, No Plan to Rescue Those Left Behind in Kabul

Last updated on August 16th, 2023 at 12:15 pm

Two years after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the Rishi Sunak-led UK government has no plans to rescue those left behind in Kabul. The government has been accused of ignoring the plight of Afghan refugees and being apathetic and incompetent. 

MPs and top military officials urged Prime Minister Sunak to urgently help refugees who worked with the United Kingdom come to Britain. But there has been no response. Johnny Mercer, who is responsible for looking after Afghans brought to the UK, is determined to make resettlement schemes work properly. He acknowledged that things could have been done better since August 2021. Mercer accepted the fact that there are people in Afghanistan at the moment that the UK has a duty, and who should be in the UK.

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General Sir John McColl, the army’s former deputy supreme allied commander for Europe, said there was no serious intent from the government to. He highlighted there’s no focus, and no plan. “It is all very well for Mercer to acknowledge it helps eligible Afghans trapped in Afghanistan and Pakistan relocate to the UK not working. But he stood up in parliament in March and said there was no plan and we needed to get one.” 

Admiral Lord West, who was the chief of naval staff from 2002 to 2006, lashed out at the government for being incompetent. He said it was time to pull its finger out to provide sanctuary to those eligible for the UK’s help. “We should jolly well get on and get the Afghans over here because we have a debt of honor. Finding accommodation for people is not beyond the wit of man. It shows a certain amount of incompetence from the government.” West believes delays are the stuff of incompetent nations. “I’d like to think our nation was competent enough to pull its finger out.” 

The UK airlifted around 15,000 people out of Kabul via Operation Pitting in 2021. Data suggests that those who had nowhere to live were placed in government-funded hostels – temporary accommodation. By March-end, there were 8,800 Afghans still living in the hotels.

The Local Government Association said the councils had worked incredibly hard to support Afghan families, but there were lots of challenges including shortage of housing. It blamed delay in funding and guidance from the government for creating uncertainty.