UK challenged to help children escape Sudan

Britain continues to run evacuation flights for British citizens fleeing the conflict

British citizens in a transport plane at Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus, having been flown from Sudan. PA

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been pressed on whether the UK would offer refuge to Sudanese children fleeing the conflict, as the first flight ferrying British citizens evacuated from Sudan touched down at Stanstead Airport on Wednesday.

Mr Sunak told the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions the country would “continue to work to end the bloodshed in Sudan”.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn asked the Prime Minister to outline a "safe and legal route" available to a child refugee seeking to flee Sudan to arrive in the UK.

Mr Sunak replied: "As outlined earlier, our priority in Sudan, first and foremost, was to evacuate our diplomats and their families, which I'm very pleased we were one of the first countries to be able to do.

"Since yesterday, we have been conducting a large-scale evacuation of British nationals.

"We have some of the largest numbers of British nationals on the ground and rightly — and I am sure the whole house will agree with me — that it is reasonable, legal and fair to prioritise those most vulnerable families, particularly those with elderly people in them, medical conditions, but also children.

"That's what we are in the process of doing and I pay tribute to all those who are making it possible."

Mr Flynn asked Mr Sunak to confirm that it would be his government's intention to "detain and deport" a child refugee who flees Sudan and comes to the UK.

The SNP Westminster leader said: "To be clear, and I think everyone in the house is aware of this, children in Sudan are already dying.

"Now, whether it's a Tory slogan to stop the boats or a Labour slogan to stop small boats, we need some more humanity in this debate rather than the race to the bottom, which we see here today.

"So, can I ask the Prime Minister now that he has confirmed that there is no safe legal route, will he therefore confirm that it would be his government's intention to detain and deport a child refugee who flees Sudan and comes to the United Kingdom?"

Mr Sunak said his government had "invested almost £250 million in humanitarian support in Sudan over the past five years" and that Britain had "a proud record of compassionately supporting those who need our assistance".

"Just over the last few years, we have welcomed almost half a million vulnerable people to our country, including many children," Mr Sunak added.

The first flight of evacuees from Sudan landed in Britain on Wednesday afternoon, as the military races against time to lift people to safety during a fragile, temporary ceasefire.

RAF flights from near the capital Khartoum were continuing throughout Wednesday after hundreds of UK citizens were taken to safety in Cyprus.

A chartered jet flying a first group back to London Stansted left Larnaca in the morning, with officials working to rescue more than 2,000 citizens who had registered in Sudan.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said 200 to 300 people have left from the Wadi Saeedna airstrip to date.

British citizens have been told to make their own way to the airfield, north of Khartoum, where the military is co-ordinating the large-scale evacuation.

But a UK-born student attempting to flee Sudan said she did not have enough petrol to make the dangerous one-hour drive from the outskirts of Khartoum to the airstrip.

“I'm trying to get there but the problem is the vehicles that we have have no gas and the petrol stations are empty,” said Samar Eltayeb, 20, from Birmingham.

“There'll be constant flights within the next few days, but if I can't find gas to get there then I'm stuck.”

Families with young children were among those on the first flights that landed in Cyprus on Tuesday, the first day of the evacuation. A British man told the BBC his sister, who left Sudan overnight, felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK had taken charge of the Wadi Saeedna airstrip near the capital from German forces, after Berlin staged its last evacuation flight on Tuesday night.

The German Defence Ministry said it had flown more than 700 people out of the country, including 200 German citizens.

About 120 British troops have already been supporting the operation at Wadi Saeedna.

Mr Wallace said the UK military could be ready to use force if needed to protect the airbase in the event it comes under attack during the airlift, although troops are primarily there to help with logistics and provide air traffic control.

The British government is also considering other options, including an evacuation by sea from Port Sudan, 800km from the capital.

HMS Lancaster and the RFA Cardigan Bay have been sent to the region.

Sudan crisis latest - in pictures

The government has estimated about 4,000 British citizens are in Sudan.

The UK began the large-scale evacuation of its citizens on Tuesday, following other nations in pulling people out of Sudan, where violent clashes between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have killed hundreds of people and left foreigners stranded.

The government came under criticism for beginning its operation days after other countries.

Ms Braverman defended the UK's response, saying the government had to cope with a “larger cohort of British nationals in Sudan compared to many other countries”.

The families of some UK citizens stranded in Sudan say they have had “very limited” contact from the Home Office.

Saleh El-Khalifa, whose mother is attempting to flee Sudan with her elderly father, said the Home Office advice to stay indoors had not been a “viable option”.

His mother was forced to make a journey to Port Sudan with her 86-year-old father, who suffers from a terminal illness, and was trying to cross the border into Saudi Arabia, he said.

Mr Khalifa told BBC Breakfast the journey was “beyond challenging” and that information from the Home Office had been “very limited”.

“The first few days me and my sister tried to contact [the Home Office]," he said. "The advice was the same, to stay indoors and not move. That wasn't a viable option as there was no guarantee of their safety by staying in one location.

“That is why the majority of people have had to move to ensure their own life and safety, which is a situation no one should have to be put in.

“It is at the point now where my mum might be trying to get into Saudi Arabia, as she believes it would be a safer route back to the UK, as opposed to being told at the last moment where these flights are taking off.

“We heard about one of the first flights yesterday that it was only on the ground for less than half an hour and the location was being shared very minimally.

“Even if my mum had been told of the right time, the time frame she would have had to get there would have been almost impossible.”