Race to get Afghan refugees resettled in West Midlands stepped up
The race to get Afghan refugees resettled in the West Midlands has been stepped up after the final evacuation flights left Kabul's airport.
Flights from Afghanistan's capital have now ended following America's decision to pull out of the war-torn country and the subsequent Taliban takeover.
Some of the last flights arrived at Birmingham Airport over the weekend, where refugees had their paperwork processed before being taken to homes in areas including the Black Country and Staffordshire.
The region's councils have agreed to support hundreds of people as part of resettlement schemes aimed at helping Afghans who have supported Britain.
Former soldier Stuart Anderson, Conservative MP for Wolverhampton South West, said his office had been supporting large numbers of requests for support since the fall of Kabul around two weeks ago.
"Many of the refugees who arriving now have put their lives on the line to support us in extremely difficult circumstances," he said.
"This is particularly true of the interpreters, and having worked in hostile environments such as Bosnia and Kosovo I know what a lifeline they will have been to the British in Afghanistan.
"It is right that we help them to relocate here and we must give them the support that they need to get up on their feet and make new lives for themselves.
"The important thing now is that this is done quickly. There are a lot of families involved with young children who need to get into schools so they can move forward."
Mr Anderson said his office was involved in an "ongoing dialogue" with Foreign Office officials over the relocation of refugees in the region.
He added: "We don't know the exact numbers that will end up being here, but our support cannot end now. It must continue."
Reports last week said refugees were made to wait for up to 30 hours at Birmingham Airport while they were being processed.
Airport chiefs said "every effort" had been made to coordinate a "very complex and sensitive operation". So far
The Government said more than 8,000 Afghan former UK staff and their families have been airlifted from Kabul.
Junior Home Office minister Victoria Atkins is in charge of 'Operation Warm Welcome', which will seek to ensure Afghans arriving in the UK receive housing, healthcare and education.
