THE UK Home Secretary has been urged not to make Afghan refugees put their lives on the line for a second time in an emotional video played outside the Home Office.

The video, created by Led by Donkeys, shows a van with a screen on the back pulling up outside Priti Patel's government department.

A video then plays of Zarlasht Halaimzai describing how she left Afghanistan and calling on the Home Secretary not to force the country's citizens to go through torment to gain asylum in the UK.

The UK Government agreed to take up to 20,000 people wanting to leave Afghanistan as part of its resettlement scheme, with 5000 due to be accepted in the next 12 months.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon calls on UK Government to step up help for Afghan refugees

However, many more are likely to begin making their way to Britain to seek asylum, and Patel's plans for immigration reform could force them into dangerous methods to gain entry.

Halaimzai said: "My family left Afghanistan years ago because we feared for our lives. I was awakened at dawn as a child and hurried into a car that would take me from my home forever.

"I was afraid. I remember hoping against hope that I would be reunited with my grandmother, but I never saw her again.

"Today I am proudly British. I am also proud of my Afghan roots. 

"Right now, people in Afghanistan are terrified about what is happening. They are full of fear.

"When the British government went into Afghanistan 20 years ago, we - the British - asked Afghans to stand with using the war against extremism. We asked them to put their faith in British values and they did.

"People there laid the ground for a republic. They voted, even though some were killed for performing the simple act of self-expression.

READ MORE: Refugees fleeing the Taliban ‘face being locked up and sent back’

"Afghans then were able to send their daughters to school, while women became politicians, judges and teachers. They even created their own version of Pop Idol, called Afghan Star."

Halaimzai continued: "Today some of the people on that show will be fearing for their lives. Afghan soldiers fought side by side with British troops. They put their lives on the line to protect British soldiers. Tens of thousands of Afghans did this based on a faith that this country would have their back.

"Now those people are counting on us. They are counting on you.

"When I first arrived in the UK my favourite teacher gave me the diary of Anne Frank. That teacher told me of how her father, a soldier in the British Army, had been one of the first people to open the gates of Belsen - the Nazi concentration camp - and how he had saved so many lives. This gave me hope.

"Today Afghans are hoping that they too can rely on British values - that we would never betray our allies and leave those that fought with us behind."

She concluded with a request of the Home Secretary: "Will you ensure that the people who risked their lives for Britain won't have to risk their lives again - this time to save themselves?"

READ MORE: Man dies after boat carrying 40 people began to sink in English Channel

Patel's plans to reform the UK's immigration system have been widely criticised, not least for making the way someone enters the UK have an effect on their future application for asylum.

The Nationality and Borders Bill, dubbed "the anti-refugee bill" by campaigners critical of the plans, is currently moving through Parliament.

The bill also includes clauses to allow the UK to be able to send asylum seekers to a “safe third country” and to submit claims at a “designated place” determined by Patel.

The stricter rules are part of Patel’s pledge to “fix” the UK’s “broken asylum system” and have been hailed by the Government as “fundamental reforms” under a “landmark” bill as part of its “fair but firm” new plan for immigration first published in March.

The Home Office has insisted the most “radical” changes in decades will “prioritise those most in need of protection while stopping the abuse of the system”.