Take as many Afghans as us Boris tells G7

BORIS JOHNSON will today urge Joe Biden and other world leaders to take in as many refugees from Afghanistan as Britain has pledged to.

The Prime Minister will also call on other major Western nations to match Britain’s new aid cash commitment to the country.

However it appears the Government has abandoned plans to set up hubs in nearby countries to deal with the urgent asylum claims of families fleeing Afghanistan after backlash from Turkey.

In a virtual meeting with the heads of the G7 countries along with the secretaries-general of Nato and the UN, Mr Johnson will say that a long-term plan for Afghanistan must be reached.

The UK announced last week that up to 20,000 Afghans will be resettled in the UK.

Humanitarian aid to the region will also be doubled to £2 6million this year despite MPs approving the slashing of the overall foreign aid budget in July.

It had been thought that Britain would set up centres in places such as Pakistan and Turkey to deal with the asylum claims of Afghans who could not be airlifted to safety in time.

But Turkey’s foreign ministry said: ‘Should there be such a request [for a British asylum hub], we would not accept it.’

A Whitehall source said: ‘We are not going to try to set up British compounds.’