Nicola Sturgeon has said the Scottish Government is ready to 'play full part' to help Afghan refugees

Ms Sturgeon highlighted work by Canadian authorities who said they had welcomed a flight full of refugees from Afghanistan.

Canada's immigration body said it will assist in resettling 20,000 Afghans threatened by the Taliban.

Ms Sturgeon tweeted that she hopes the UK Government "does similar and offers as much refuge for vulnerable Afghans as possible".

Nicola Sturgeon has said the Scottish Government is ready to 'play full part' to help Afghan refugees

She added: "As we did with Syrian refugees, @scotgov is willing to play our full part and do all we can to help those in peril as a result of the horrifying situation currently unfolding."

A Downing Street source has said Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to seek a recall of MPs this week.

With the country on the brink of complete breakdown, the lead elements of the British force sent to evacuate the remaining UK nationals were understood to be in the Kabul on Sunday amid fears it could fall within days or even hours.

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: "The UK - along with our international partners - have a moral duty to the people and government of Afghanistan.

"There are serious questions over the manner of departure from the country, lack of support for the Afghan government, and the reckless cut to aid support.

"Make no mistake about this - the absence of a proper strategy and meaningful planning makes this a serious failure of leadership and one of the biggest foreign policy disasters of modern times.”

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