South Shields MP reveals Government staff "laughed at" constituent asking for help
Emma Lewell-Buck made the revelation in Parliament yesterday - saying staff had laughed at her constituent and called the Afghanistan resettlement scheme "a scam"
Last updated 9th Sep 2021
The Government are facing heavy scrutiny as North East families with loved ones trapped in Afghanistan say they've been mocked by Government staff.
In Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, South Shields MP Emma Lewell-Buck raised the issue - telling MPs one of her constituents was laughed at over the phone when asking for help for family members trapped in Afghanistan, living in fear of the Taliban.
"The caller thought that he had hung up, and he heard the person that he'd spoken to laughing,
"And saying 'we are lying to people, we are giving them false hope and this whole thing is a scam'."
Now Mrs Lewell-Buck and other MPs are calling for a more cohesive action plan from the Government when it comes to helping people still trapped in Afghanistan.
"I don't think I've ever cried so much on the phone to people, or listening to people's stories, or when I've met constituents begging me for help.
"Every time, again - like other MPs - I've sent the emails to where I've been told to send them to and I still haven't had a single response."
Emma, and other MPs, are calling for a more streamlined system for people looking for help;
"Myself and colleagues have spent weeks now, trying to get some clarity on who it is we should actually be directing our concerns to.
"One minute it's the Foreign Sec, then it's the Defence Sec - then it's the Home Secretary - then we're told it's somebody else.
"The Government are all over the shop with this, they have not got a co-ordinated response"
In PMQ's yesterday, Boris Johnson said he would deal with the issue directly.