ISLINGTON Council has unveiled a plan to buy back former council homes to secure long-term housing for Afghan refugees.

Eighty ex-council homes will return to council ownership, funded by London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Right to Buy Back scheme.

Under the scheme, 20 family-sized homes are earmarked for Afghan refugees. The remaining 60 will be made available to local families facing homelessness.

Given these homes are currently on the open market, it is likely they will be bought soon.

Set up earlier this year, Mr Khan’s scheme gives boroughs the funding to purchase former social housing that had been sold into the private market under the Right to Buy programme.

In August, thousands of Afghans fled the Taliban.

Mr Khan announced his Right to Buy Back fund could be used to buy homes for displaced Afghan families.

Islington is the first borough to use the Right to Buy Back scheme to purchase homes for Afghan refugees. Resettled refugees will also have access to a range of fully-funded language courses and training programmes.

Councillor Diarmaid Ward, Islington’s cabinet member for housing, said: “Islington has a long and proud history of offering sanctuary to people in need, and we stand ready to help Afghan refugees in every way we can. These homes will make a huge difference to the lives of hundreds of people.”