UK right-wing are already protesting plans to resettle Afghan refugees fleeing Taliban

Right-wing politicians and activists, including extremists who are banned from social media, have warned against the UK's scheme to resettle Afghan refugees.
2 min read
18 August, 2021
A crowd of Afghans attempting to flee the Taliban at Kabul airport [Getty]

Right-wing politicians and activists have lashed out at the UK government's plans to resettle Afghan refugees, as thousands flee the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan.

The UK has a long-term aim of resettling some 20,000 Afghans under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, the government announced on Tuesday, two days after the Taliban seized the Afghan capital, Kabul.

"I want to ensure that as a nation we do everything possible to provide support to the most vulnerable fleeing Afghanistan so they can start a new life in safety in the UK," said Home Secretary Priti Patel.

The UK has so-far evacuated 2,052 Afghans since the Taliban takeover on Sunday, with 2,000 more applications being completed and "many more" being processed, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday.

Right-wing politician Nigel Farage came under fire after claiming that allowing Afghan refugees into the country could lead to attacks on British soil.

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Right and far-right groups and figures - some banned from social media - took to Telegram to protest the UK government's decision.

"25,000 Afghan MEN !! coming to the UK and our women and children are meant to feel safe ??? they left their women and children with the Taliban to get raped that's how much they think of women," The Resistance England, an anti-Islam forum wrote on their Telegram.

"Boris Johnson announces 25,000 Afghans can come to live in UK. Of course, we're a massive country and we have plenty of room (sarcasm)….😡👎🇦🇫", far-right group Britain First said on their Telegram page.

Patriotic Alternative (PA), a far-right group that was founded by former members of the British National Party and Scottish Defence League lashed out at the decision, saying the UK government cannot keep "committing" to the Afghan people.

"Why do we have an enduring commitment to the Afghan people? As our Prime Minister, you have an enduring commitment to carry out the will of the British people, ", said Laura Towler, deputy leader of PA on her Telegram channel.

"We want immigration figures reduced and we have told you that continuously from 1948 to the present day. The Tories are traitors to the British people. We need an Alternative," she added, playing on her organisation’s name.

Anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson said Afghans seeking refuge in the UK should remain in Afghanistan.

"We can't police the world. We can't nation build or build nations when the people of those nations DONT WANT IT!!! Don’t like it??? Feel free to go back to Afghanistan to fight for your nation and DEFEAT the theocratic backward savages that are the Taliban," he wrote.