UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was returning from a holiday abroad last night after defying advice not to go amid the situation in Afghanistan.
The Taliban are now effectively in control of Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul after insurgents were pictured in the city's presidential palace yesterday by President Ashraf Ghani who fled the country while his forces gave up the city without a fight.
The insurgent forces had been capturing surrounding areas of Afghanistan in the days leading up to them entering Kabul.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to recall the UK Parliament from its summer recess on Wednesday, August 18 amid the ongoing situation after US and British forces left the country after 20 years.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson to recall UK Parliament as Taliban reach Kabul in Afghanistan
A contingent of 600 British troops has been sent to Afghanistan to support the final departure of the remaining UK nationals as well as Afghans who worked with the UK in the country.
However, amid the ongoing situation, Raab, the UK's Foreign Secretary, has been on holiday outside of the UK and facing serious criticism for his decision to leave the UK at a critical time.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said Raab was returning to the UK yesterday and was “personally overseeing” the department’s response to the crisis.
Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said that his absence during a moment of major international upheaval was unacceptable.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon says Scotland will step up amid Afghanistan crisis
“For the Foreign Secretary to go AWOL during an international crisis of this magnitude is nothing short of shameful,” she said.
“A catastrophe is unfolding in front of our eyes and while the Foreign Secretary is nowhere to be seen, hundreds of British nationals are being evacuated and his department is cancelling scholarships for young Afghans.”
The chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, was also scathing when asked about the FCDO’s likely response to the collapse of the Afghan government.
“I don’t know what is in the works because we haven’t heard from the Foreign Secretary in about a week, despite this being the biggest single policy disaster since Suez,” he told BBC News.
READ MORE: David Pratt: 20 years on the roles have reversed in Afghanistan
Last night an FCDO spokesman said: “The Foreign Secretary is personally overseeing the FCDO response and engaging with international partners. He is returning to the UK today, given the situation.”
Raab meanwhile tweeted that he had been sharing his “deep concerns” about the situation in Afghanistan with Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
He said they had agreed it was critical that “the international community is united in telling the Taliban that the violence must end and human rights must be protected”.
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