British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced that the government will launch an effort to bring Afghan and Palestinian refugees to the country.
“This Government will reopen the UK Resettlement Route in partnership with the United Nations,” Mahmood wrote in a social media statement. “We will take vulnerable refugees from camps across the world and give them the chance of a new and better life here in Britain.” She noted that the first arrivals will come this year.
According to an article published on the United Kingdom’s government website, about a quarter of referrals under the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) will be for Afghan women and girls and Palestinian refugees who are “fleeing war and persecution.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage condemned the plan. “I want to be extremely clear. Britain is not obligated to take in more migrants, and under a Reform government these people will not be able to stay,” he wrote. “If Labour are so sure the public wants their open borders policies, they’d call a general election to get a mandate. Without it, [Prime Minister Andy Burnham] Andy remains unelected, and his government’s policies remain illegitimate.”
Reform UK’s Shadow Home Secretary, Zia Yusuf, similarly declared, “Nobody voted for this” and declared it to be “illegitimate.”
The resettlement plan was further condemned by Rupert Lowe, who leads the Restore Britain party. He wrote on X that he no longer cares about “compassion” as the idea has “gone too far.”
The U.K. has already battled with migrants, as the government issued a booklet instructing them not to rape or sexually harass residents.
The booklet, called “Understanding behaviours and expectations in the UK: a guide for asylum seekers,” serves as a reminder that both parties must consent to sexual activities and that those who are unconscious are not in a position to consent or agree to such an activity.
