Afghanistan evacuation 'end point' determined by US says MP

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The UK government has scrambled to evacuate people from crisis-torn Afghanistan after the Taliban seized total control of the country. It has called on local authorities to help home Afghans but some, like Torbay Council in Devon, have declined to do so.

However, three hotels in Manchester are understood to be full with refugees who’ve been flown over to the UK in the last 24 hours.

Manchester City Council or the Home Office both declined to name the hotels in question.

Decisions about where in the country people fleeing Afghanistan will be permanently housed are yet to be taken, reports Manchester Evening News.

But Manchester residents voiced their concerns at the decision, made by a council under Labour power since 1973.  

One Facebook user wrote: “No houses for our own, but now we can find them for others.”

Another shared: “One thing that worries me is that our NHS is already on its knees how will they cope with thousands more coming into our country, waiting lists for operations and treatments are already miles long.”

A third posted: “What about the commitment made by Andy Burnham to help homeless in the city of Manchester?

“Why can’t we find space in hotels for them until they get there feet back on the ground? Country is so weak, woke and full of snowflakes.”

One woman wrote: “Not enough homes already, veterans are on the streets.”

Another comment reads: “Meanwhile our veterans are on the streets.”

The government announced plans this week to receive 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan over the next four years.

The departure of Western troops triggered the almost immediate takeover of the Taliban and led to thousands of people trying to flee via Kabul airport this weekend, some of them hanging off planes in a desperate bid to escape.

Authorities across the UK are desperately trying to find hotels in which to place refugees in initial quarantine. They’ll then be rehoused elsewhere.

It is believed the majority of these will be people with strong English language skills and formal paperwork, such as people posted there and those working alongside British and US forces.

But it is understood the Home Office is not using the same contracts it uses for asylum placements.

Flights from Kabul are not said to currently be landing at Manchester Airport, but are flying into Birmingham.

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