Politics

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

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

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

More than 58,000 applications were made to the EU Settlement Scheme in the month after the deadline had passed, new Home Office figures reveal. EU citizens living in the UK had until 30 June to apply to stay in the country or lose their rights, under post-Brexit rules introduced by the government. This is due

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

Firebrand union leader Len McCluskey has fired a vicious parting shot against Sir Keir Starmer, claiming Labour’s ship could  “go under” with him at the helm. In hard-hitting memoirs to mark his retirement, the Unite general secretary known as “Red Len” suggests Sir Keir will fail to win back the “Red Wall” seats Labour lost