Andy Burnham says government’s plan for Afghan refugees is ‘chaotic’ and needs to be stronger

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has urged the government to put ‘stronger’ plans in place to provide asylum to the refugees fleeing Afghanistan.

Burnham, who branded the current plans in place as ‘chaotic’, says Greater Manchester will happily welcome refugees but its communities need adequate support.

He told ITV News: “They’ve got to put in place arrangements here that are fair to all parts of the country and at the moment I don’t see any evidence of that.

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“It looks chaotic in terms of the way it’s being handled and the government urgently needs to get a stronger plan in place.”

So far, Manchester has welcomed over 1,000 refugees fleeing the country following the takeover of the Taliban last week. It is understood that the three hotels housing the refugees are now at full capacity.

The people of Manchester have responded valiantly to the arrival of the refugees, however, with local charity Care 4 Calais receiving floods of donations.

Burnham has applauded the efforts of Mancunians, saying: “The amount of stuff that the Greater Manchester public have donated – it’s amazing what people can do and it always restores your faith.”

However, he used it to send the government another reminder: “People are so generous here, but I would say to the Government – don’t take people’s generosity for granted and play on that.”

The first evacuation flight from the war-torn country arrived in the UK last Sunday, with the second touching down late on Tuesday night, and another landing early on Wednesday morning.

The UK government plans to welcome 20,000 more refugees across the next four years.

For more information on how you can help the refugees fleeing Afghanistan, visit the following links:

British Red Cross
UNICEF
AllWeCan.org
United Nation Refugee Agency 
Refugee Council