London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Feb 22, 2025

Manchester and Liverpool will welcome Afghan refugees, say mayors

Manchester and Liverpool will welcome Afghan refugees, say mayors

Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram call for more support from Home Office as do other regional mayors
The mayors of Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and the Liverpool and Sheffield city regions have said they will welcome Afghan refugees but that those fleeing persecution must be fairly distributed around the country.

In an interview with Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “We of course – as always – stand ready to help and to welcome people here who need our help, but it does need to be fair to places like Greater Manchester. ”

Steve Rotheram, the mayor of the Liverpool city region, said refugees were welcome in Liverpool with “no caveats”.

He said: “We would quite like the government to do things properly but that shouldn’t be a caveat to restrict what we would like to achieve. There are going to be issues that arise from [welcoming Afghan asylum seekers] and what we want to do is bring people with us. There are the Twitter loons who are saying ‘this is going to cost everyone a gazillion pounds’ and ‘they are going to take our housing and our jobs and our wives’ but that’s utter nonsense.”

Everybody in the country should play their part, he emphasised, saying many of the Afghans “are people who have been assisting our country”.

Tracy Brabin, the mayor of West Yorkshire, said the whole country needed to support Afghans in need. “West Yorkshire will play its part. We will not turn our backs on people who are going through this devastating crisis. However, the government must play its part too,” she said. “The government must ensure a fair, robust and coordinated response, as well as provide local councils with the right financial support and resources.”

In the Sheffield city region, the mayor, Dan Jarvis, an Afghan army veteran, said the UK had a moral duty to welcome refugees. He said: “The government must now work closely with local authorities, both to make sure the resources are in place to accommodate refugees and that there will be a fair distribution across the country, with everyone doing their bit.”

Mark Drakeford, the Labour first minister of Wales, also made clear refugees were welcome in Wales. “We want Wales to be a nation of sanctuary and we’ll do everything we can to support evacuations from Afghanistan. We’re working with the Home Office and councils on preparations to support those who need it,” he tweeted.

Burnham said the Home Office had recently broken a promise not to house asylum seekers in hotels. “We had a situation recently where one of our councils was notified at 4pm a day before 160 people arrived. Now, that’s not fair to those people who are coming but nor to the places they are going, because you just cannot put together the provision.”

The council in question was Salford, which earlier this summer received less than 24 hours’ notice of the imminent arrival of 160 asylum seekers, mostly Afghans who had been rescued while crossing the English Channel. All were placed in one hotel in a busy location.

“We complained to the Home Office because they were placed in an area of very high footfall, with few amenities and the responsibility fell on us to do all of their health checks,” said a spokesperson for Paul Dennett, the mayor. “Soon there was a Covid outbreak and a TB outbreak in the hotel … The Home Office apologised – and then two weeks later did the exact same thing in Wigan.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Good News: Senate Confirms Kash Patel as FBI Director
Officials from the U.S. and Hungary Engage in Talks on Economic Collaboration and Sanctions Strategy
James Bond Franchise Transitions to Amazon MGM Studios
Technology Giants Ramp Up Lobbying Initiatives Against Strict EU Regulations
Alibaba Exceeds Quarterly Projections Fueled by Growth in Cloud and AI
Tequila Sector Faces Surplus Crisis as Agave Prices Dive Sharply
Residents of Flintshire Mobile Home Park Grapple with Maintenance Issues and Uncertain Future
Ronan Keating Criticizes Irish Justice System Following Fatal Crash Involving His Brother
Gordon Ramsay's Lucky Cat Restaurant Faces Unprecedented Theft
Israeli Family Mourns Loss of Peace Advocate Oded Lifschitz as Body Returned from Gaza
Former UK Defense Chief Calls for Enhanced European Support for Ukraine
Pope Francis Admitted to Hospital in Rome Amid Rising Succession Speculation
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, at the age of 83, Declares His Retirement.
Whistleblower Reveals Whitehall’s Focus on Kabul Animal Airlift Amid Crisis
Politicians Who Deliberately Lie Could Face Removal from Office in Wales
Scottish Labour Faces Challenges Ahead of 2026 Holyrood Elections
Leftwing Activists Less Likely to Work with Political Rivals, Study Finds
Boris Johnson to Host 'An Evening with Boris Johnson' at Edinburgh's Usher Hall
Planned Change in British Citizenship Rules Faces First Legal Challenge
Northumberland Postal Worker Sentenced for Sexual Assaults During Deliveries
British Journalist Missing in Brazil for 11 Days
Tesco Fixes Website Glitch That Disrupted Online Grocery Orders
Amnesty International Critiques UK's Predictive Policing Practices
Burglar Jailed After Falling into Home-Made Trap in Blyth
Sellafield Nuclear Site Exits Special Measures for Physical Security Amid Ongoing Cybersecurity Concerns
Avian Influenza Impact on Seals in Norfolk: Four Deaths Confirmed
First Arrest Under Scotland's Abortion Clinic Buffer Zone Law Amidst International Controversy
Meghan Markle Rebrands Lifestyle Venture as 'As Ever' Ahead of Netflix Series Launch
Inter-Island Ferry Services Between Guernsey and Jersey Set to Expand
Significant Proportion of Cancer Patients in England and Wales Not Receiving Recommended Treatments
Final Consultation Launched for Vyrnwy Frankton Power Line Project
Drug Misuse Deaths in Scotland Rise by 12% in 2023
Failed £100 Million Cocaine Smuggling Operation in the Scottish Highlands
Central Cee Equals MOBO Awards Record; Bashy and Ayra Starr Among Top Honorees
EastEnders: Four Decades of Challenging Social Norms
Jonathan Bailey Channels 'Succession' in Bold Richard II Performance
Northern Ireland's First Astronaut Engages in Rigorous Spacewalk Training
Former Postman Sentenced for Series of Sexual Offences in Northumberland
Record Surge in Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes Across the UK in 2024
Omagh Bombing Inquiry Concludes Commemorative Hearings with Survivor Testimonies
UK Government Introduces 'Ronan's Law' to Combat Online Knife Sales to Minors
Metal Detectorists Unearth 15th-Century Coin Hoard in Scottish Borders
Woman Charged in 1978 Death of Five-Year-Old Girl in South London
Expanding Sinkhole in Godstone, Surrey, Forces Evacuations and Road Closures
Bangor University Announces Plans to Cut 200 Jobs Amid £15 Million Savings Target
British Journalist Charlotte Peet Reported Missing in Brazil
UK Inflation Rises to 3% in January Amid Higher Food Prices and School Fees
Starmer Defends Zelensky Amidst Trump's 'Dictator' Allegation
Zelensky Calls on World Leaders to Back Peace Efforts in Light of Strains with Trump
UK Prime minister, Mr. Keir Starmer, has stated that any peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine "MUST" include a US security guarantee to deter Russian aggression
×