Shabana Mahmood

The UK government is set to open new refugee resettlement routes for Afghan women and girls as well as Palestinians, according to a Guardian report. The announcement, attributed to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, is being made around the Labour Party Conference in 2026. The move would create dedicated legal pathways for two groups facing acute insecurity, and it is drawing attention amid ongoing debate over Britain's asylum and migration policy.

The UK government is set to open new refugee resettlement routes aimed at Afghan women and girls, as well as Palestinians, under a scheme announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. The move comes as ministers face continued pressure over Britain's asylum policy and its commitments to people displaced by the fall of Kabul and the situation in Gaza. Details of eligibility and numbers have not yet been fully set out, and the plan is likely to draw debate both from campaigners welcoming the routes and critics of government migration policy.