Boston council leader on 'moral duty to help Afghans'

Many refugees arrived in the UK after fleeing Afghanistan when the Taliban returned to power in 2021

A council leader has defended housing Afghan families in Boston saying: "We have a moral duty to help."

Five new homes will be built using £670,750 from council funds and a £471,950 Home Office grant in a £1.14m project.

Four of the houses will be for Afghans, with the remaining one used to meet general, temporary housing needs.

Councillor Anne Dorrian said families settled by the UK government had helped British forces in Afghanistan.

The council's move has been criticised by some on social media who believe local people should be given priority.

Ms Dorrian told BBC Radio Lincolnshire it was about investing money in housing for the long-term.

She said: "The houses only have to be used by the families from Afghanistan for five years and after that they will return to the ownership of the council.

"This was free money that we that we could then take and invest.

"It's also right that we have a moral duty to help these families who helped the British forces and helped the British government try to bring peace and stability to the people of Afghanistan.

"We don't currently know who the families are but we know this much: the government has given them visas to come and live here; the government are resettling them as part of their scheme."

Thousands fled Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Torture threat

Those Afghans who helped British armed forces have since been offered refuge under the UK government's Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.

Ms Dorrian gave an example of one Afghan man called Adil who had been resettled in the UK after working for the British government for 20 years.

She said: "All those people that he helped put in prison were released by the Taliban.

"If the Taliban were to get their hands on people like Adil, they would torture him and kill him."

Afghan families given refuge by the UK are facing homelessness after being told by the government to move out of hotels, councils have told the BBC.

The Home Office said £285m of new funding aims to speed up the resettlement of Afghan nationals into long-term homes.