Ministers are continuing their scramble for a co-ordinated international response to the crisis in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s dramatic takeover.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday night resumed his series of calls with world leaders following the fall of the central Asian country to the extremist group.
He spoke with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, having also this week held talks with the leaders of France, Germany, the US and Pakistan.
Image: Dominic Raab will speak with other G7 foreign ministers
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also continued with efforts to come up with a joint global response by speaking with his Indian and American counterparts.
However, Mr Raab was hit with calls to resign from opposition MPs following claims he last week failed to immediately ask Afghanistan’s foreign minister for urgent assistance in evacuating Afghan interpreters who had worked for the UK military.
According to the Daily Mail, the foreign secretary – while on holiday with his family in Crete – was advised by officials on Friday to speak with Hanif Atmar as the Taliban advanced on Kabul.
But, the newspaper said, officials were told Mr Raab was not available and that another foreign office minister should speak with Mr Atmar.
More on Afghanistan
This is a dereliction of duty.
Failing to make a call has put the lives of brave interpreters at risk, after they served so bravely with our military.
The report said that Mr Raab ended up not speaking with his Afghan counterpart until at least the next day, after the Afghan foreign ministry refused to set up a call with the more junior UK minister.
A foreign office spokesperson said: “The foreign secretary was engaged on a range of other calls, and this one was delegated to another minister.”
Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds accused Mr Raab of a “dereliction of duty”, adding: “Failing to make a call has put the lives of brave interpreters at risk, after they served so bravely with our military. Utterly shameful.”
On Thursday, Mr Raab will join a virtual meeting of G7 foreign ministers.
This will precede a planned virtual meeting of G7 leaders early next week – set to be held more than seven days since Afghanistan’s capital Kabul was seized by the Taliban.
The virtual talks will come as European leaders struggle to hide their frustration with US President Joe Biden’s handling of the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.
However, Mr Biden has remained defiant about his decision to pull-out US soldiers and, on Wednesday night, once again refused to take questions following a live televised statement from the White House.
The prime minister used his address to parliament to promise a doubling of UK aid to Afghanistan this year to £286m.
The government – which has cut the UK’s overall foreign aid budget – is also calling on other nations to boost humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
The UK will double its humanitarian and development aid to Afghanistan to £286m this year. We call on others to follow our lead to ensure the most vulnerable Afghans receive the humanitarian assistance they need.
Downing Street said Mr Johnson, in his talks with Mr Draghi, had “outlined his five-point proposal for the international community to support the people of Afghanistan and to contribute to regional stability”.
The continuing immediate priority for many countries is the evacuation of their nationals from Kabul, with the US warning on Wednesday night that it could not ensure safe passage for those attempting to reach the city’s airport.
The US also said it does not currently have the capability to evacuate large numbers of Americans who are outside Kabul.
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Biden snubs Afghanistan questions
As of 8am on Wednesday, the UK had evacuated approximately 1,200 people from Kabul on military flights.
This includes around 300 British nationals, with the other 900 predominantly individuals resettled under the scheme for those Afghans who were employed locally by the UK, along with a small number of Afghans who are dependents of British nationals.
The government has also promised to welcome up to 5,000 of the most vulnerable Afghans to the UK in the first year of a bespoke refugee scheme, and up to 20,000 in future years.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “Today the prime minister set out the UK’s significant offer to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan – doubling our humanitarian aid to the region and establishing one of the most generous asylum schemes in British history.
“He also outlined the UK’s broader strategy for Afghanistan and the region, including the need to unite the international community behind a clear plan for dealing with the Taliban regime in a unified and concerted way.
“We are now asking our international partners to match the UK’s commitments and work with us to offer a lifeline to Afghanistan’s most vulnerable people.”
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Sir Keir Starmer continues to face the threat of a major rebellion during a key vote on welfare reforms later – despite making last-minute concessions to disgruntled Labour MPs.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has confirmed that all existing claimants of the personal independence payment (PIP), the main disability benefit, will be protected from changes to eligibility.
The combined value of the standard Universal Credit allowance and the health top-up will rise “at least in line with inflation” every year of this parliament.
And an additional £300m for employment support for sick and disabled people in 2026 has been announced, which will rise every year after.
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10:54
Welfare cuts ‘needed to be made’
Ms Kendall has also promised that a consultation into PIP – “co-produced” with disabled people – will be published next autumn.
She said the U-turn on welfare cuts will cost taxpayers about £2.5bn by 2030 – less than half the £4.8bn the government had expected to save with its initial proposals.
But after announcing the U-turns, Labour MPs were still publicly saying they could not back the plans as they do not go far enough to allay their concerns.
Disabilities minister Stephen Timms would not say he was “confident” the proposals would pass the Commons when asked on Sky News’ Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge.
“We’ve got a very strong package, I certainly hope it passes,” he replied.
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1:49
‘Disabled people thrown under the bus’
A total of 86 charities united yesterday to call on MPs to reject the reforms, saying they will harm disabled people and calling it “a political choice”.
The likes of Oxfam, Child Action Poverty Group, Mind and Shelter said the bill has been brought to a vote without consulting disabled people and without any assessment “of its impact on health and employment outcomes”.
When asked to name “a single” disability organisation in favour of the reforms, Ms Kendall declined to do so.
Several Labour MPs indicated they would still vote against the changes, leaving the government in the dark over how big a rebellion it still may face.
Ms Kendall tried to allay their fears, telling MPs: “I believe we have a fair package, a package that protects existing claimants because they’ve come to rely on that support.”
Richard Burgon presented a petition to parliament yesterday evening against the cuts, signed by more than 77,000 people.
Several Labour MPs questioned why the vote was going ahead before the review into PIP is published – including Rachael Maskell, who said she could not “countenance sick and disabled people being denied support” and added: “It is a matter of conscience.”
Connor Naismith said the concessions “undoubtedly improve efforts to secure welfare reform which is fair”, but added: “Unfortunately, I do not believe these concessions yet go far enough.”
Image: Labour rebel Nadia Whittome said the government was ‘ignoring’ disabled people
Nadia Whittome accused the government of “ignoring” disabled people and urged ministers to go “back to the drawing board”.
Ian Byrne told the Commons he will vote against the “cruel cuts” to disability benefits because the “so-called concessions go nowhere near far enough”.
The vote will take place this evening, with coverage on Sky News’ Politics Hub live blog and on TV.