Boris Johnson says UK will take in 25,000 Afghans costing £200Million

The UK government will welcome 25,000 refugees from Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover of the country.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to honour the “debt” the UK owes the Afghan people by rescuing their citizens.

It comes as MPs are summoned back to Parliament for an emergency debate on the Afghanistan crisis which has rocked the world.

Announcing the new resettlement scheme, the PM said: “We owe a debt of gratitude to all those who have worked with us to make Afghanistan a better place over the last 20 years.

“Many of them, particularly women, are now in urgent need of our help. I am proud that the UK has been able to put in place this route to help them and their families live safely in the UK.”

While announcing the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme, Prime Minister Johnson said the UK owed it to the people of Afghanistan to help them in their time of need.

Brits and Afghan refugees have already touched down in the UK aboard an Airbus KC2 Voyager aircraft from Kabul which landed at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.

A previous scheme for Syrian refugees cost about £8,000 per person – so the new commitments are likely to come with a huge price tag of up to £200million.