Home Secretary Suella Braverman has suggested thousands of Sudanese refugees will be able to seek asylum in the UK as mass evacuations are carried out in the war-stricken country.
Officials are scrambling to evacuate British nationals from the country as a 72-hour ceasefire takes place.
The warring rival generals have largely been able to put the conflict on hold in Sudan.
Sudanese nationals hoping to apply for asylum in the UK will have been given hope as Suella Braverman suggested “safe and legal” routes are on offer.
Suella Braverman says evacuating British nationals remains the Government's top priority in Sudan
GB News / PA
Speaking to GB News, she warned people seeking to reach British shores against travelling across in a small boat, and instead pursue more legitimate means.
Questioned over the possibility of Sudanese people being “turned away” upon reaching the UK, she said: “If you’re suggesting people might get on a small boat and come here, that would be totally unacceptable.
“There are safe and legal routes that are on offer. We work with the UNHCR around the world whereby people in humanitarian disasters or conflict situations who want to seek asylum in the UK can apply via the UNHCR out in the region.
“We’ve resettled about 50,000 people from non-country specific routes in recent years. Whether it’s the 500,000 people that we’ve welcomed to the UK from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria or Hong Kong.
Braverman said legal means of reaching the UK are available to Sudanese nationals
PA“Or whether it’s the many thousands of people we have resettled through other routes outside of those countries, we have a very good track record of resettling some of the most vulnerable people in the world.”
Four flights from Sudan have lifted 301 people to safety as the military races desperately against time in its bid to rescue citizens.
Downing Street said the flights have been “full or close to full”, with no “significant issues” being faced by the evacuees who have been told to make their own way to the airfield.
More than 2,000 British nationals have registered in Sudan under evacuation plans, but thousands more could be in the country.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the operation in Khartoum is “running smoothly”, while there is currently “no issue with capacity”.
Questioned by GB News’ Isabel Webster over the practicality of the options available to Sudanese nationals in their efforts to reach the UK, Braverman remained steadfast in her assertions.
Webster stated: “To be clear, there is no way currently someone trying to flee from the war in Sudan could come and claim asylum in this country?”
The Home Secretary responded: “That’s not true, but our first priority is to support British nationals.“
We are putting on an evacuation operation right now to support British nationals, British passport holders and their dependents.
“That’s our focus now and that’s our duty as a Government.”
Braverman spoke on the evacuation operation taking place, saying it is of a “fast moving” nature.
She said: “It is a very complex situation. A very sensitive situation. It’s very fast moving as well.
“The Prime Minister has been leading the operation, working with the Foreign Office, working with the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office.
“He’s been working with these departments to ensure we have an operation in place and what we’ve seen is an evacuation operation taking place.
“We’ve got over a thousand military personnel out in Sudan, I’ve sent Border Force officers out to Sudan to help with the processing and checking with passports.
“We are ensuring that there is a very strong diplomatic operation from the Foreign Office who will be contacting directly those British nationals who are maybe affected.”