BBC apologizes for attributing media claims on Afghan refugee 'hub' to British official

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) – The BBC’s Turkish service apologized on Monday for attributing remarks about supposed plans to establish "a center for Afghan refugees in Turkey" to Britain’s defense chief, as the remarks actually came from British media commentary on UK plans in the region, not from any official source.

"A series of 'processing hubs' will be set up in countries neighbouring Afghanistan for refugees who manage to escape,” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace wrote in a guest piece in the Mail on Sunday.

“If they can establish their right to come to the UK, they will be flown to Britain," he added.

But while Wallace’s piece made no mention of Turkey, some British media outlets – including BBC Turkish – went beyond what he said, claiming without evidence that there were plans to establish a “processing hub” in Turkey for Afghan asylum-seekers.

Turkey quickly shot down the unfounded claims.

"The news in the UK press saying there are plans to establish an asylum processing center for Afghan asylum-seekers in Turkey does not reflect the truth," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a written statement on Sunday.

Acknowledging the mistake, BBC Turkish corrected its story and issued an apology.

"We would like to point out that this is not actually from the statements of the British defense secretary,” said BBC Turkish.

“Information mentioned in (British outlets) The Guardian and Mail on Sunday newspapers as a statement of intent that Turkey and Pakistan were also considered, with reference to the British Ministry of Defense, and this news was mistakenly attributed to the minister," it added.

As the Taliban’s recent rapid takeover of Afghanistan spurred a refugee exodus, Turkish officials have stressed that Turkey – which hosts more refugees than any other country in the world – cannot and will not accept a new wave of Afghan refugees.

Turkey already hosts some 3.6 million Syrian refugees from the Syrian civil war, far more than any other nation.