Politics

The minister for Afghanistan was also on holiday last week as Kabul fell, Sky News has learnt. Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, the minister of state directly responsible for South Asia, was on leave until Sunday, the day the Taliban marched into the Afghan capital. The Conservative peer has been in his post for four

Dominic Raab is facing new calls to quit after claims that he defied a call to return from his luxury holiday in Crete to deal with the Afghanistan crisis and stayed for two more days. It is reported that the beleaguered foreign secretary was told by a senior Downing Street official to return to London

Nicola Sturgeon has described a new power-sharing agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens as “groundbreaking”. Announcing the new pact during a news briefing at Bute House in Edinburgh, Scotland’s first minister said the move would help to create “a greener, fairer, independent Scotland”. Ms Sturgeon described the partnership as “groundbreaking in both Scottish

Boris Johnson says he “absolutely” has confidence in Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab – and insisted the government is working “virtually round the clock” to help evacuate people from Afghanistan. Speaking after a meeting of the government’s emergency COBRA committee on Friday afternoon, Mr Johnson dismissed criticism of Mr Raab’s summer holiday as Afghanistan’s capital Kabul

Dominic Raab has said he did not call Afghanistan’s foreign minister when he was on holiday as he was prioritising securing Kabul airport so that evacuation flights could depart. Amid mounting criticism over the speed of his response to the Taliban’s takeover, the foreign secretary said in a statement on Friday the government has been

Ministers”blindsided themselves” by ignoring a warning eight months ago about the implications of the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.  A report submitted to the government in January laid out how the US pull-out risked undermining the Afghan government and allowing the country to descend into civil war. But the Conservative chair of the International Relations

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been criticised for being too busy to speak with Afghanistan’s foreign minister as the country descended into chaos. Mr Raab has been accused of failing to ask Hanif Atmar for urgent assistance in evacuating Afghan interpreters who had worked for UK military personnel during the 20-year conflict in the country.

Ministers are continuing their scramble for a co-ordinated international response to the crisis in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s dramatic takeover. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday night resumed his series of calls with world leaders following the fall of the central Asian country to the extremist group. He spoke with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi,

A Conservative MP who served in Afghanistan received a round of applause after delivering an emotional speech in an emergency Commons debate on the crisis there. Tom Tugendhat told MPs the past week has seen him, like many veterans, “struggle through anger, grief and rage” as events in Afghanistan unfolded. Live updates as MPs debate

The UK will take up to 20,000 vulnerable Afghans over the coming years as part of a resettlement plan, following the Taliban takeover of their country. Under the new bespoke scheme – modelled on the UK’s seven-year programme to resettle Syrian refugees – the prime minister has promised thousands of Afghans who are most in

The situation at Kabul airport is “stabilising”, Dominic Raab has said, after crowds rushed to flee the city. The foreign secretary admitted he was taken by “surprise” at the speed of the Taliban’s advance over the weekend, but vowed the efforts of veterans in the conflict “wasn’t all for nothing”. It comes as scenes of

Boris Johnson is set to announce a bespoke resettlement scheme for those “most in need” in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s dramatic takeover of the country, Downing Street has said. Number 10 said the prime minister and his government were finalising details of a specific scheme to allow Afghans to claim asylum in the UK. The

Joanna Lumley has called on the government to meet the “brave and loyal” Gurkha veterans who are currently on hunger strike opposite Downing Street over their pensions. Protesters have been camped in Whitehall for nine days now. According to the Support Our Gurkhas website, the hunger strikers are campaigning for equal pensions for Gurkhas who

Carrie Johnson has told other pregnant women there is nothing to worry about, after getting her second COVID-19 vaccine. The prime minister’s wife, who is due to give birth to her second child in December, said she got her second jab on Saturday and was “feeling great”. Mrs Johnson, 33, said she was concerned about

British filmmaker Ken Loach has said he has been kicked out of the Labour Party for supporting others who have been expelled. The 85-year-old lifelong socialist said there was a “purge” and a “witch-hunt” in the party as he criticised Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. He wrote on Twitter: “Labour HQ finally decided I’m not

Parliament will be recalled next week over the situation in Afghanistan, as the prime minister called a second emergency Cobra meeting later this afternoon to discuss the crisis. MPs will return to Westminster on Wednesday to debate the government’s response to the crisis, with Taliban fighters having entered the capital Kabul after a lightning advance