Dominic Raab defends not making evacuation call to Afghan counterpart

UK foreign secretary facing calls to quit after reports he remained on holiday as crisis came to a head

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has rejected calls to resign. Getty

The UK’s foreign secretary has issued a statement rejecting calls for his resignation over his failure to intervene on behalf of people fleeing Kabul late last week.

Dominic Raab said he did not call his Afghan counterpart to discuss evacuations from Afghanistan because his priority was security and capacity at Kabul’s airport.

The calls to resign came after it emerged that a phone call to Hanif Atmar on evacuating Afghan interpreters was delegated to a junior minister last Friday.

That phone call never happened because of the rapidly deteriorating security situation as the Taliban swept through Afghanistan. At the time, Mr Raab was on holiday in Crete.

“On Friday afternoon, August 13, advice was put to my private office (around 6pm Afghan time) recommending a call to the Afghan Foreign Minister,” said Mr Raab, who has rejected calls to resign, in a statement.

“This was quickly overtaken by events. The call was delegated to a Minister of State because I was prioritising security and capacity at the airport on the direct advice of the Director and the Director General overseeing the crisis response.

“In any event, the Afghan Foreign Minister agreed to take the call, but was unable to because of the rapidly deteriorating situation,” he said.

The Taliban has reportedly been searching for anyone believed to have worked with Nato forces in Afghanistan. Afghans eligible for evacuation flights have also faced difficulties getting to Kabul airport and passing through Taliban checkpoints.

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  British nationals and Afghan evacuees arrive on a flight from Afghanistan at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, England.

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  People reunite after a Lufthansa plane transporting evacuees from Kabul, Afghanistan, lands in Frankfurt, Germany.

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  An aircraft of Danish DAT airline that transported evacuees from Afghanistan arrives at Copenhagen Airport.

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  A passenger gives a thumbs up through the window of a plane that had arrived from Afghanistan at RAF Brize Norton air base in England.

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  People evacuated from Afghanistan pose in front of a German Bundeswehr airplane after arriving at the airport in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

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  People disembark from a Lufthansa aircraft arriving from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, that landed in Frankfurt, Germany. On board were about 130 people that were evacuated from Afghanistan.

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  People walk with their bags upon arrival at Frankfurt Airport, Germany, after being evacuated from Kabul.

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  People walk across the tarmac after alighting from a plane from Afghanistan at RAF Brize Norton air base in England.

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  People among the first evacuees from Kabul hug as they arrive at Frankfurt International Airport, Germany.

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  The second Czech evacuation aircraft from Kabul, with 87 passengers on board, stands at the Prague-Kbely airport, Czech Republic, after landing on Tuesday.

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  A family arrives at Frankfurt Airport, Germany.

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  People who have been evacuated from Afghanistan arrive at Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Paris, France.

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  A man waves Afghanistan's national flag in Kabul, as the country marks its 102nd Independence Day on Thursday, August 20. This commemorates the country regaining full independence from British influence in 1919. AFP

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  Taliban fighters patrol in Kabul. AP Photo

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  Afghans pass by the poster of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani who fled the country after Taliban took over, as they celebrate the Independence Day in Kabul. EPA

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  Cars and crowds are seen near the airport in Kabul. Reuters

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  People gather round the scene of a shooting outside Kabul airport, while others move away from the incident. Reuters

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  A Taliban fighter sitting on a vehicle guards the route of an Ashura procession in western city Herat. AFP

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  British and dual nationality citizens living in Afghanistan board a military plane at Kabul airport. Reuters

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  A US Marine processes an evacuee at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport. AFP

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  Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on his first video address since Taliban takeover. Facebook

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  People carry Afghan flags as they take part in an anti-Taliban protest in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Reuters

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  A woman holds a photograph during a protest to raise awareness of the situation in Afghanistan, outside EU headquarters in Brussels. AP Photo

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  Senior Taliban figure Abdul Ghani Baradar arrives in Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. AFP

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  A Taliban fighter walks past a beauty saloon where images of women have been defaced, in Shahr-e Naw neighbourhood in north-west Kabul. AFP

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  People wait to be evacuated from Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport, following the Taliban takeover of the capital. AFP

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  Afghans make their way into Pakistan at the Chaman border crossing. AFP

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  Khairullah Khairkhwa, right, a former governor of western Herat province and now a member of the Taliban's political office in Qatar, speaks to the media after arriving in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan. EPA

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  US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan takes questions on events in Afghanistan, at a White House press briefing in Washington. EPA

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  Taliban forces guard a checkpoint in Kabul. Reuters

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  A young demonstrator attends a vigil in support of Afghanistan outside the West Los Angeles Federal Building, Los Angeles. EPA

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  Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, centre, holds the group's first press conference in Kabul since the insurgents took the capital. AFP

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  Images of glamorous women displayed outside a beauty salon in Kabul have been painted over since the Taliban took control. EPA

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  A Taliban fighter in Afghan capital Kabul, where the group has told government staff to return to work. AFP

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  Taliban fighters on patrol in Kabul. AFP

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  Taliban fighters in an Afghan government forces pickup patrol the streets of Kabul. AFP

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  Taliban fighters pass a poster of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul. AFP

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  People queue outside Kabul airport as they try to leave Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. Reuters

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  A Taliban fighter keeps watch outside the Interior Ministry in Kabul. AFP

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  Some of the first people flown out of Kabul after the Taliban takeover arrive at Frankfurt International Airport in Germany. AFP

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  People have arrived in Frankfurt after fleeing the Afghan capital. AFP

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  Western countries have been flying citizens and Afghans out of Kabul since it was seized by the Taliban. AFP

Mr Raab said the UK government’s “overriding priority has been to secure Kabul airport so that flights can leave.”

“The Government’s approach to prioritise security at the airport was the right one,” he said.

“As a result, 204 UK nationals and their families, Afghan staff and other countries citizens were evacuated on the morning of Monday August 16. Since then, 1,635 have been evacuated.”

Lisa Nandy, the Labour Party’s spokeswoman for foreign affairs, has been among the most vocal critics of Mr Raab’s conduct.

“The foreign secretary should be ashamed and the prime minister has serious questions to answer over why he remains in the job,” she said earlier this week.

“What could possibly have been more important than safeguarding the legacy of two decades of sacrifice and hard-won victories in Afghanistan? While the Foreign Secretary lay on a sun lounger, the Taliban advanced on Kabul and 20 years of progress was allowed to unravel in a matter of hours.”

Mr Raab chaired a call with G7 foreign ministers on Thursday to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan.

He said the “G7 are continuing efforts to do everything possible to evacuate vulnerable persons from Kabul airport and call on all parties to continue to facilitate that".