UK media outlets write to PM Johnson urging protection for Afghan journalists

News groups call for the government to bring journalists out of the country after the Taliban takeover

European and Afghan nationals disembark from a French military plane at Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport from Kabul via Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. EPA

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British media outlets have written an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging him to protect journalists and those who worked with them in Afghanistan by getting them out of the country after the Taliban takeover.

"Now the Taliban has arrived in Kabul and our colleagues are trapped there," the outlets wrote in the letter.

"With evacuation flights resuming, we need you to act on your promise to protect those who worked with journalists and get them to safety outside Afghanistan.

"Given the threats to the safety of Afghan journalists, we ask the British government to urgently take these steps to protect our colleagues."

The letter was written on behalf of outlets including the Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, The Economist, The Guardian, The Sun and Sky News.

Britain is working with the Taliban in Kabul on a "tactical, practical level" to fly out citizens and eligible Afghans, Britain's ambassador to Afghanistan said on Wednesday.

Sir Laurie Bristow said that the evacuation programme would last days, not weeks.

The US-backed Afghan government collapsed over the weekend in an upheaval that sent thousands of civilians and Afghan military allies fleeing for their safety.

Many fear a return to the severe interpretation of Islamic law imposed during the previous Taliban rule, which ended 20 years ago.