Prime Minister urged to increase number of refugees UK takes
The SNP has said Boris Johnson must outline a 'credible plan' to protect thousands of Afghan refugees and vulnerable people left behind by the UK government - as the Prime Minister prepares to make a statement in Parliament today.
As MPs return to Westminster, Kirsten Oswald MP said the UK government must "make up for lost time and fulfil its responsibility to the vulnerable Afghan people it has abandoned" through its role in the biggest foreign policy disaster in modern times.
The SNP Westminster Deputy Leader said the UK government has a 'moral duty' to substantially increase the number of refugees it takes, ensure safe routes for refugee relocation and resettlement, and ensure adequate funding arrangements for local authorities.
Commenting, SNP Westminster Deputy Leader Kirsten Oswald MP said:
"With Afghanistan in crisis, the UK government must make up for lost time and fulfil its responsibility to the vulnerable Afghan people it has abandoned."
"The Prime Minister must use his statement today to set out a credible plan to protect thousands of Afghan refugees and those that have shamefully been left behind.
Boris Johnson shares responsibility for the biggest foreign policy disaster in modern times, and the UK government now has a moral duty to ensure safe routes for refugee resettlement, substantially increase the number of refugees the UK government is willing to take, and outline adequate refugee funding arrangements for the devolved governments and local authorities.
"Our brave troops and personnel put in a heroic effort to evacuate people to safety - and they deserve to be thoroughly commended - but Tory ministers must not hide behind their efforts to defend themselves from the catastrophic failure caused by their poor decisions and planning."
"The Prime Minister must also outline what the UK government is doing to help those who will be left living in the human rights nightmare that Afghanistan is already becoming, particularly for women and girls - and what it will do to ensure it doesn't become a haven for terrorism."
"Finally, it is essential that the UK government learns lessons from this crisis, including the need to completely reverse Tory cuts to international aid and commit to a judge-led inquiry on the war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal. People have a right to know the truth of how the UK government got it so badly wrong."