Priti Patel has said a scheme to resettle 20,000 vulnerable Afghans, particularly women and girls, could be expanded.
The Home Secretary insisted that the British military is doing what it can to help British nationals fleeing Afghanistan get to the airport at Kabul, and that the Government is expanding its scheme to resettle Afghans who worked with British forces.
She told BBC News: “We have got to come up with the actual infrastructure, the support, the resettlement.
“We are going to be working with all partners. We could end up bringing many more but first of all we have to have the underpinning and the infrastructure and the support to do that.”
She added that double the 5,000 originally announced could be admitted under the programme.
READ MORE: Priti Patel preparing for 20,000 Afghan refugees after Taliban takeover
“There could be up to 10,000. We are expanding categories of people,” she said.
“We are working with the MoD on the ground. We are working with partners on the ground to identify these individuals.
“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.
"We have got to come up with the actual infrastructure, the support, the resettlement.
"We are going to be working with all partners. We could end up bringing many more but first of all we have to have the underpinning and the infrastructure and the support to do that.”
On aiding nationals fleeing the country, she said: “We have been in touch with them making sure that we can bring them into the airport and get them onto the planes.
“This is the operational work that is taking place on the ground. That is where our military personnel are working, with others as well, with the US military. There are international teams on the ground doing exactly that.
“This is all about the safe facilitation of people, Afghan nationals as well, to get them into the airport. It is hugely challenging.
“We cannot kid ourselves about this but we have incredible people on the ground doing everything possible to facilitate that safe passage to get people to Kabul airport and then get them into the airport compound and get them on planes.”
Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said the UK government must “get serious” on the crisis in Afghanistan.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she said: “What we haven’t criticised the UK government for is the act of withdrawal. What we’re struggling to understand, and I think most people are, is why we’ve known for 18 months that our time in Afghanistan was coming to an end but none of those basic things like evacuation plans, processing visas for Afghans who helped us, have been put in place.”
She added that the lack of organisation had led to “chaotic scenes” at the airport in Kabul and could lead to “appalling consequences” for those who helped the UK trying to flee.
Ms Nandy also said that a “global agreement” is needed to help deal with the growing refugee crisis.
She said: “We’ve got to start working with our international partners to see what leverage we can muster in order to stop Afghanistan from once again collapsing into a haven for terrorists.”
She urged the Prime Minister to “use his convening power as the president of the G7” and a “leading member of the UN security number” to draw up global coordination.
READ MORE: SNP MP calls for Patel to scrap 'hateful' immigration bill in light of Afghanistan crisis
“The world has to make a commitment that we will rise to scale of challenge,” she added.
According to General Sir Nick Carter, the head of the British armed forces, the next 24 hours could be “pretty critical” in evacuating people from Afghanistan.
General Sir Nick, who expected around seven aircraft would be heading to Kabul, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There are a lot of desperate people trying to get to the airport, and subject to the situation remaining calm, which the Taliban are working hard to achieve alongside us, the system will work, we believe.”
He added: “At the moment we are collaborating with the Taliban on the ground, who are providing security.
“They are making sure that the centre of Kabul is very calm at the moment and so far we have not had reports of people finding it difficult to get to the airport.”
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