British foreign secretary Dominic Raab has flown to Doha to discuss the safe passage of British nationals and Afghan allies from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The minister’s trip comes after he was grilled by MPs on the foreign affairs select committee on Wednesday afternoon over his handling of the crisis in Afghanistan.
While Mr Raab meets Qatari officials, who have a close relationship with the Taliban leadership, Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad will head to Tajikistan to talk about the safety of those fleeing over the border from Afghanistan.
This comes as Taliban are expected to form a government and to name Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada — the group’s top religious leader — as the country’s new supreme authority.
The US, the EU and others have said formal recognition of this government depends on its action, with Victoria Nuland, US undersecretary of state, saying: “We’re not going to take them at their word, we’re going to take them at their deeds.”
Meanwhile, a senior UN official has warned that food stocks in Afghanistan could run out “as soon as this month.”
Defence secretary contradicts Raab over ‘failure of intelligence’
Defence secretary Ben Wallace has contradicted Dominic Raab’s assertion that intelligence was to blame for the UK’s failure to anticipate the speed of the Taliban takeover.
Speaking to the Spectator magazine, Mr Wallace said: “I’ve already seen some lines about the failure of intelligence.
“History shows us that it’s not about failure of intelligence, it’s about the limits of intelligence.
“When the Soviet Union crumbled, when Libya collapsed, when the actual moment came in Afghanistan, intelligence hadn’t failed. It was just limited, as it always is at the very end.”
Williamson defends Raab over Afghanistan
Education secretary Gavin Williamson has attempted to defend his colleague Dominic Raab amid criticism of his handling of the Afghanistan crisis.
The former defence secretary said Mr Raab “has been working tirelessly” in leading the UK’s response to the Taliban’s takeover.
However, he somewhat watered down this defence by saying that he, unlike the foreign secretary, did not have time for a proper holiday this summer.
He told LBC radio: “As education secretary you tend not to have holidays.”
“I got a couple of days in Scarborough to see my mum and dad, so that was very nice.”
