UK may send back Afghan refugees

The British government has indicated that it may consider ordering thousands of asylum seekers back to Afghanistan.

In an interview with the Independent newspaper the Home Office Minister Lord Rooker said the fall of the Taleban during the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan had removed one of the main reasons for Afghans seeking asylum in Britain.

However the Refugee Council, an independent body which campaigns for the rights of refugees, said Afghanistan was still too unstable for Britain to consider a radical change in its asylum policy.

Afghanistan provides the most asylum seekers coming to Britain each year, according to government figures.

Between July and September last year, over 2,500 Afghans sought refuge in Britain.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service