Tory MP criticises US and UK plans to evacuate nationals from Afghanistan
Cabinet ministers and Tory MPs joined forces this morning to condemn the UK and US governments’ “humiliating”, “shameful” and “tragic” decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
The chair of the Commons’ Defence Select Committee branded the move “the West’s biggest own goal this century so far”. Asked by LBC how the UK looked today, Tobias Ellrood rubbished Boris Johnson’s claim that “Global Britain is back” and said the government needed to show “greater determination” than it had.
Former armed forces minister Johnny Mercer described the situation as “deeply humiliating” and apologised to those affected in Afghanistan. “For those of us who committed a long time of our lives – but particularly for those who lost people over there – to watch this happening and to see so little comment from our political leaders, it’s heartbreaking,” the Tory MP told Sky News.
Meanwhile, defence secretary Ben Wallace warned about the likely consequences the Taliban’s resurgence will have on global terrorist cells. “Al-Qaeda will probably come back, it certainly would like that type of breeding ground,” he told Sky. “That is what we see – failed states around the world lead to instability, lead to a security threat to us and our interests.”
PM warned over ‘post-Brexit power-grab for poor areas’
The Union will be further undermined by a government power-grab for billions of pounds of post-Brexit cash for poor areas, the prime minister has been warned today.
Almost £2bn a year was distributed through EU structural funds – the biggest sums proportionally to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, whose leaders helped decide how and where to spend it, writes our deputy political editor Rob Merrick.
But, in contrast, a promised replacement – the shared prosperity fund (UKSPF) – will be controlled by the government in London, allowing ministers “to direct investment” and claim any successes.
Sam Hancock13 August 2021 11:02
Stewart: ‘We have created another Syria overnight’
Rory Stewart, the former international development secretary, has said it is “unrealistic” to expect the Afghan army alone – let alone Afghan civilians – to fend off the Taliban, as it continues to make significant gains.
Speaking to the BBC, he said now that US and UK troops are leaving the country “we have essentially created another Syria overnight”.
Asked what his “solution” to the problem would be, Mr Stewart said “Britain alone” needed to invest heavily in “humanitarian work and NGOs” as organisations scramble to provide necessities such as education and aid to forgotten Afghans. He said that cost alone would likely be up to £1bn.
Questioned earlier about the situation on Sky News, the former Cabinet minister Stewart said simply “this is our fault” and warned “we are going to end up with terrorists” as a result of the Taliban regaining its grip over the country.
“This is a horrifying group associated with terrorists, they have been backing suicide bombing in the areas they control, women are not going to school and it is a total betrayal by the US and the UK,” he told Kay Burley.
Sam Hancock13 August 2021 10:32
Today: Afghanistan ‘Ask Me Anything’ live with our defence editor
As the Afghan war appears to be approaching its endgame faster than anyone expected, there is a sense of panic among Afghans about if and when the Taliban take over.
Government forces seem unable to contain the insurgent advance. The strife, and fear of the jihadists, has driven thousands of people from across the country to flee to Kabul where there is now a growing refugee crisis.
So, to answer any questions you have about what’s unfolding, The Independent’s defence editor Kim Sengupta will host a Q&A at 1pm BST today live from Kabul itself.
All you have to do is register to submit your question in the Comments section of the below article. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the Comments box. Don’t worry if you can’t see your question, they will be hidden until Kim joins the conversation to answer them.
Sam Hancock13 August 2021 10:13
Anger as Home Office moves modern slavery victims to prisons
The Home Office has prompted outrage after it emerged that potential modern slavery victims are being transferred from immigration detention centres to prisons.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Home Office has sought to hold fewer people in removal centres for Covid-19 safety reasons, placing many in prisons instead but lawyers and charities have warned that they will be left without access to vital support as a result, reports our social affairs correspondent May Bulman.
The Independent is aware of at least two cases where detainees who have trafficking indicators have been informed that they will be transferred from a removal centre – where conditions are less restrictive and they have better access to legal advice – to a prison.
Sam Hancock13 August 2021 10:04
US withdrawal ‘is political choice not military’, says Conservative
The chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee has accused the US of lying about its reasons for withdrawing soldiers from Afghanistan.
After Sky’s Kay Burley read Tom Tugendhat a quote from US president Joe Biden, which said the US simply could no longer afford to keep troops in the country, the Tory MP said this was “absolute rubbish”.
“The Americans have spent $20bn or so but that money isn’t coming back,” he responded. “What we’re now talking about is what you do moving forward, and actually [having] 2,500 US troops [on the ground] was managing to keep a lid on an insurgency and enabling 400,000 Afghan troops to continue.”
He continued: “Now the US better start planning for refugee emergencies in places like Pakistan and Iran because that’s what we’re going to see next. So the idea that the US couldn’t endure is complete rubbish, that’s not a military choice it’s a political one.”
Sam Hancock13 August 2021 10:00
Opinion: ‘Political infighting has already started over Afghanistan’
Our voices editor Chris Stevenson has weighed in on Mitch McConnell’s “cheap political point-scoring” when it comes to Afghanistan, writing:
“President [Joe] Biden’s decisions have us hurtling toward an even worse sequel to the humiliating fall of Saigon in 1975… [He] is finding that the quickest way to end a war is to lose it.”
Those are the words of the Republican leader in the US Senate, Mitch McConnell, about the current situation in Afghanistan, ramping up the political infighting as officials in America and the UK watch the swift spread of the Taliban back across swathes of the country.
In raising the spectre of Vietnam, McConnell is using a reference for military failure that will have instant resonance with the public – but he has seemingly put aside the idea that Donald Trump would have likely used a similar timetable for the withdrawal of US troops having pushed the issue of ending the so-called “forever war” hard during his presidency.
Sam Hancock13 August 2021 09:40
Afghanistan’s vulnerability ‘leaves it open to terror cells’
Furthering the message that troop withdrawal from Afghanistan might lead to a rise in terrorism, former defence minister Johnny Mercer has explained the significance of the country’s “vulnerability”.
“Afghanistan is a kind of melting point of tribal and ethnic groups, it is one of the most vulnerable points in the world that the evil people that we have to defend ourselves against will go to to set up some sort of base to terrorise the local population, to build up a support base,” he told BBC Breakfast on Friday.
“We will feel the effects of that in the UK as we did before, whether it is through a refugee crisis, whether it is through the security situation.”
Mr Mercer added the repercussions of the move would be “absolutely huge”.
Sam Hancock13 August 2021 09:35
Video: Wallace warns Al-Qaeda will ‘probably come back’
Al-Qaeda will ‘probably come back’, Ben Wallace warns
Sam Hancock13 August 2021 09:23
Minister refuses to rule out British troops returning to Afghanistan
Ben Wallace has not ruled out the possibility of UK troops returning to Afghanistan following their withdrawal, either on the ground or by carrying out air strikes.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today whether the UK could return for future military operations if Al-Qaida or other terrorist organisations rise in Afghanistan, the defence secretary said “wherever Britain has a threat to her interests and her people, we have a global counter-terrorism capability”.
He acknowledged that this position “is obviously not as perfect as being based in a country as we have been in Afghanistan”, but said British troops retain “military capability to deal with a threat where we face it or we have to deal with it under international law”.
Mr Wallace added: “I will always deploy either force or disruptive capabilities alongside other parts of the British state – or indeed a coalition – to protect our national security and our interests. We will always do that, we will reserve the right to do it, and that is a global capability.”
Sam Hancock13 August 2021 09:20
Migrant who died in Channel was African man in late-20s
Let’s step away from Afghanistan for a moment. A person who died while trying to reach the UK after the boat he and others were travelling in sank was an African man in his late-20s, the French authorities have said.
Search and rescue teams were called to the Channel at around 10am on Thursday morning after a vessel carrying 36 people, including families, got into difficulty roughly 13 nautical miles off Dunkirk.
The man was found unconscious by the cargo ship’s life boat after reportedly suffering a cardio-respiratory arrest.
Follow our social affairs correspondent May Bulman’s breaking report here:
Sam Hancock13 August 2021 09:15