Politics

Boris Johnson is urging President Joe Biden and other world leaders to stand by the Afghan people and not walk away, amid fears that the Taliban is plotting vicious reprisals. The prime minister is chairing a video-link summit of G7 leaders and calling for a boost in international support for refugees and humanitarian aid after

The UK’s evacuation effort in Afghanistan is “down to hours now, not weeks”, the defence secretary has said. Ben Wallace conceded the UK’s involvement will end when the US leaves the country, which is expected to be on 31 August. “The prime minister is, obviously at the G7, going to try and raise the prospect

US and UK troops should have stayed in Afghanistan “to see it through”, Tony Blair has said, as he warned the decision to withdraw personnel could lead to a “security threat” at home. The former Labour prime minister said while he has “enormous respect” for US President Joe Biden, the number of individuals deployed in

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

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

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

A phone call that Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was advised to make to Afghanistan’s foreign minister but which was delegated to a junior minister did not take place, it has emerged. Mr Raab was reportedly “unavailable” when officials in his department suggested he “urgently” contact Hanif Atmar on 13 August to arrange for help to

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.

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 prime minister and foreign secretary are expected to face criticism from all sides of the House of Commons today, as MPs cut short their summer break to discuss the fallout from the “catastrophic” situation in Afghanistan. Questions are likely to be wide-ranging, encompassing the failure of intelligence around the speed of the Taliban’s advance,

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

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

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

The “vast bulk” of British citizens in Afghanistan will be brought back to the UK over the “next few days”, Boris Johnson has said. Efforts will also be stepped up to relocate Afghans to the UK who have assisted the military operation over the past 20 years, the prime minister said. The prime minister spoke

The defence secretary has told Sky News he is “happy to meet with any Gurkha”, as former soldiers continue to stage a hunger strike opposite Downing Street over their pensions. But in a sign that the government will not meet the demands of the protesters who have been camped on Whitehall for seven days, Ben

Terror group al Qaeda “will probably come back” in Afghanistan as the security situation continues to deteriorate, the defence secretary has told Sky News. Speaking to Kay Burley, Ben Wallace was highly critical of the US decision to withdraw troops from the country. It is almost 20 years since the invasion of Afghanistan was launched

GCSE results have hit record highs again this year. The proportion of UK pupils getting the top grades – that’s a 7 or higher, equivalent to at least an A – is 28.9%, an increase of 2.7% on last year. The overall pass rate also rose, with over three quarters – 77.1% – of pupils

Lorry traffic controls introduced to avoid post-Brexit disruption around the Port of Dover in Kent are set to be used to manage future issues in the area. The Department for Transport has announced that the traffic reconfiguration on the M20, known as Operation Brock, will continue past its current 31 October deadline. It said the