The first set of Brits and Afghan refugees have arrived in the United Kingdom after Kabul fell to Taliban troops on Sunday. The passengers arrived at an RAF base in Oxfordshire in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

They landed in an Airbus KC2 Voyager at RAF Brize Norton, 75 miles away from London.

The news comes after the UK agreed to take 20,000 Afghan refugees over five years.

A quarter of the Afghan refugees invited to the UK will be eligible to move to the UK in the first year together with around 5,000 interpreters and other staff who worked alongside British forces.

Boris Johnson said Britain owed “a debt of gratitude to all those who have worked with us to make Afghanistan a better place over the last 20 years.”

He added: “many of them, particularly women, are now in urgent need of our help”.

On Tuesday night, the Prime Minister held an urgent crisis talk with American President Joe Biden about how the UK and US can respond to events in the Middle East.

In a Downing Street statement, Number 10 confirmed: “The Prime Minister and President Biden agreed on the need for the global community to come together to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

“The Prime Minister outlined UK plans including increased humanitarian aid to the region and resettlement of refugees.

READ MORE: Afghan reporter in tears as she begs NATO president about Taliban help

Lord Dubs, who was himself a child refugee when he fled on the Kindertransport from Prague to Liverpool Street, said: “If the Canadians can take 20,000, why are we only taking 20,000 over five years?”

The Labour peer added: “I think the criteria for prioritising women and children and vulnerable people is right, but these people are in danger now and are in desperate need for safety.”

MPs will reconvene in the House of Commons later today for an emergency debate on how to respond to the crisis in Afghanistan.