Suella Braverman wants Afghan refugees evicted from Yorkshire in Home Office's latest 'obnoxious' move

Home Secretary Suella Braverman is under fire once again over her approach to immigration policy, as The Guardian reports families of Afghan refugees in Yorkshire have been sent eviction notices signed by the government minister.

Prior to this, the MP for Fareham in Hampshire’s recent controversies include telling a child survivor of the Holocaust that she “won’t apologise” for the language used to describe immigrants, being photographed laughing on the roof of a building in Rwanda, and “dreaming” of seeing a Rwanda deportation flight on the front page of The Telegraph.

Even a tweet from the Home Office itself implied their boss was “one of the greatest injustices in modern Britain” – before they realised the post was badly worded and deleted it.

Not content with accusations of “victim blaming” and defending the Rwanda deportation policy immediately after learning about the country shooting dead refugee protesters in 2018, Ms Braverman has now put her name to letters which tell recipients: “If possession is not delivered upon by the notice date, you will be a trespasser and the secretary of state for the home department shall be at liberty to evict you from the property.”

The Afghan refugees – including those who had helped UK officials - were brought to the UK from Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul as it fell to the Taliban late last year, in a plan known as Operation Pitting.

Ms Braverman’s equally controversial predecessor, Priti Patel, had praised the “seismic” operation and that rescuing Afghans who assisted British forces demonstrated the country’s “bond of trust” with them.

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Now, it seems Ms Braverman may want to break that bond, as her eviction letters appear to follow on from an announcement in March that Afghan refugees will reportedly be forced out of hotels under government plans.

At this point, the plan was understood not to apply to Afghans housed in hotels by the Home Office, but a month later, reports revealed thousands of these refugees would be evicted after all – with no offer of housing.

A Home Office letter seen by The Independent said: “From 2 May 2023, the existing matching process will cease to exist … It is likely that most people will not receive an allocation through the new process, and we encourage you to find your own accommodation wherever possible.”

The latest move - which will see some families move home for the fourth time – has seen Ms Braverman be hit with another wave of criticism:

In a statement, a Home Office spokesperson said: “Hotels are not, and were never designed to be, suitable long-term accommodation for Afghans resettled in the UK. That is why we have announced a plan, backed by £285m of new funding, to speed up the resettlement of Afghans into long-term homes.

“Where available, the government will continue to make offers of suitable housing, which we strongly encourage Afghan families to accept. Where an offer cannot be made or is rejected, increased government support is available to help Afghans find their own homes and begin rebuilding their lives here.”

The Independent is calling on the government to act now. It must live up to its promise to all those who served alongside the British military in Afghanistan. Sign our petition today.

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