Priti Patel claims UK cannot accommodate 20,000 refugees ‘all in one go’ amid criticism of scheme

Home secretary says separate scheme evacuating Afghans who helped British forces could double to reach 10,000 people

Priti Patel has claimed the UK cannot accommodate 20,000 refugees “all in one go” amid criticism of the new scheme that is expected to offer sanctuary to just 5,000 vulnerable people in its first year.

Unveiled last night, the government said the Afghanistan citizen resettlement scheme will aim to provide refuge to 20,000 fleeing persecution from the Taliban forces in the “long term”.

Ministers suggested the new scheme was modelled on the Syrian vulnerable persons resettlement scheme, which relocated 20,000 Syrian refugees over a seven-year period from 2014 to 2021.

But on Tuesday evening opposition parties criticised the “vague” promise to help 20,000 Afghans in the longer term — insisting the figure should be the government’s immediate target.

The former Conservative cabinet minister David Davis also insisted the UK should be looking to accept “north of 50,000” vulnerable people.

Speaking on Sky News, the home secretary said it was important to have a scheme the government “can deliver”, adding: “We have to think very carefully about the practicalities.”

“Importantly with the new humanitarian route we are announcing today, we have to ensure that we, clearly, have all the support structures across the United Kingdom.

“We will be working with local councils around the country, with the devolved governments as well, to ensure that we can support those people. This isn’t just about bringing people over, this is about resettlement.”

Pressed on why the government wasn’t aiming to offer sanctuary to more in the immediate term, Ms Patel replied: “Primarily because we cannot accommodate 20,000 all in one go.”

The home secretary said she had spoken with her Canadian counterparts on Tuesday evening, who told her a similar pledge by their government to resettle 20,000 people was an “aspiration”, which includes locally employed staff.

She declined, however, to reveal when the UK would receive the first refugees under the scheme, saying she was “not going to give a date”.

In a separate interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Patel insisted “you can’t just press a button on this scheme”, highlighting that it would “take time”.

Pressed on whether Afghanistan citizens fleeing the country and arriving by boat would be treated differently compared to last week or still risk being criminalised, she added: “This isn’t about being criminalised if they’ve come over from Afghanistan.

“They will claim asylum in the way in which people who enter our system are currently claiming asylum, but I have to say when it comes to people coming from Afghanistan, I think it’s important to separate what is going on in Afghanistan — we are making big changes.”

“We would obviously tell people not to come through illegal means,” Ms Patel stressed.

“It also means they are travelling through many safe countries — irregular migration doesn’t just manifest in the UK, people are travelling through Europe countries, they can claim asylum in European countries, in safe countries”.

Ms Patel stressed, however, that the government’s immediate priority was evacuating British nationals from the region and Afghans granted visas, including those who have worked alongside UK troops in the 20-year conflict.

While the government’s aim is to rescue 5,000 people under this separate scheme, which was announced earlier this year, the cabinet minister also revealed many more could be airlifted to safety.

Pressed on whether the figure could reach 10,000, the cabinet minister said: “There could be up to 10,000. We are expanding categories right now and we’re working with the MoD [Ministry of Defence] on the ground to identify these people”.

“We are working night and day. I am sending in Home Office officials, border force officials, to the region to help support this scheme as well.”

Ms Patel then added there could be “more” than 10,000, saying: “There absolutely could be.”