BBC Breakfast host Charlie Stayt has put SNP spokesman Alyn Smith on the spot on Wednesday for unclarity over the party’s response to the Taliban reclaiming power in Afghanistan. The Home Office announced a new “Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme” on Tuesday, which will allow up to 25,000 Afghans to be settled in the UK in the near future. Mr Smith was challenged on Scotland’s own response to the emerging refugee crisis after he claimed the British Government’s plans did not go far enough.
Mr Stayt asked: “You said that Scotland is prepared to play its part. Can you explain how that might work in practice?
“The separation between the UK accepting refugees and Scotland accepting refugees, how does that work?”
Mr Smith said in response: “Well, we propose the Four Nations Summit so that all the four home nations can coordinate activities.
“We’d also want to work very closely with the UN authorities on this because they will be pivotal in dealing with the Taliban.
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“They’ll probably be the only organisations that are actually going to still be there, UNICEF International Refugee agencies and that sort of thing so there’s a lot of details to be worked out.”
He added: “I certainly admit that there’s a lot of details still to come through from the UK scheme, but what we’ve seen so far isn’t going to touch the sides of what’s actually necessary.”
Mr Stayt then interjected: “So I mean, on the one hand, you’re saying to Priti you need to say more, but in terms of what you’re suggesting Scotland could do, you’re unable to say that either.”
No 10 has announced that a new resettlement scheme will be aimed at helping Afghan refugees, including women and girls to come to the UK.
“So I think that ought to be the number one priority but nonetheless asylum is really important.”
Details of the new scheme would be set out in due course.
The SNP have said “Scotland stands ready to play its full part” in tackling the Afghanistan humanitarian crisis, and has called for an urgent four-nation summit on refugee resettlement in the UK
SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford said it was crucial that the UK Government worked with the devolved governments.
