PM pays tribute to ‘heroic’ British troops – as plans revealed to help Afghan evacuees settle in UK
Boris Johnson has paid tribute to the “heroic efforts” of British troops and officials involved in evacuation efforts in Kabul – as the government unveiled plans to help Afghans settle in the UK.
The prime minister has written to the armed forces community to thank them for their role in Operation Pitting, which has seen thousands of people flown out of Afghanistan‘s capital following the Taliban’s takeover.
Afghans who have been brought to the UK will now be the focus of Operation Warm Welcome, which promises to provide support with health, education, employment, and accommodation to help them “fully integrate into society”.
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British troops on one of the final military flights out of Kabul. Pic: MoD
Mr Johnson told those involved in the evacuations that they “should feel immense pride” for what they have done, including previous efforts as part of Britain’s 20-year Afghan campaign.
“Your efforts in difficult and hostile circumstances have seen the evacuation of thousands of British nationals alongside Afghans who worked with us, and who will now start new lives in the UK,” he said.
“I know that the events of recent weeks will have been hard for the armed forces community to watch unfold.
“Over the last two decades, many thousands of you dedicated years of your lives to service in Afghanistan, often in the most arduous conditions. In particular, I realise that this will be an especially difficult time for the friends and loved ones of the 457 service personnel who laid down their lives.
“So I want to take this opportunity to offer my profound thanks for everything you did and to say without hesitation that you should take the greatest pride in your achievements.”
The prime minister has paid tribute to all those involved in evacuation efforts since the Taliban’s takeover
The government has come under heavy criticism from Afghan veterans on its own backbenches since the Taliban completed its takeover of Kabul earlier this month.
Some have questioned whether the collapse of the Afghan government rendered the efforts worthless, with question marks over whether human rights gains since 2001 – notably for women and girls – will now be reversed.
But a defiant PM said: “Our purpose in Afghanistan was simple – to protect the United Kingdom from harm – and you succeeded in that central mission.
“In the last 20 years, not a single terrorist attack has been launched from Afghan soil against the UK or any other Western country.”
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PM’s ‘great sense of regret’ for those left behind
The prime minister said millions of Afghan girls had received an education thanks to the efforts of Western troops, and that no such gains “could swiftly be undone”.
“Whether you are still serving or a veteran, a loved-one, a relation or a friend, you all played your part and you should feel immense pride,” he added.
Troops who require support will be able to call upon the NHS Op Courage service, along with existing aid within their respective service.
Help for the Afghans arriving in the UK will be provided through plans dubbed Operation Warm Welcome.
It will be overseen by a new dedicated minister for Afghan resettlement: Victoria Atkins.
The plans include the creation of a central portal where people, organisations and businesses can register offers of support through volunteering, jobs, skills training, donations.
Free English language courses will also be provided in recognition that many of the dependents of former staff and Afghan translators may need this.
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Patel meets arriving Afghan families at Heathrow
The PM said: “For those who have left their homes with no more than a small bag of belongings, and in fear for their lives, coming to the UK will no doubt have been a daunting experience, but also one of hope for the future.”
He added: “We will never forget the brave sacrifice made by Afghans who chose to work with us, at great risk to themselves. We owe them, and their families, a huge debt.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel added: “This week we have all seen the relief on the faces of those who have made it from Afghanistan to safety here in the UK.
“Our message to those who have already arrived, welcome – we are glad you are here and you will be treasured members of our communities.”
Full details of Operation Warm Welcome will be set out next week and build on existing commitments, which include £5m for local councils for housing support and the offer of a COVID vaccine for all arrivals.
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Rachel Reeves has told Sky News she is looking at both tax rises and spending cuts in the budget, in her first interview since being briefed on the scale of the fiscal black hole she faces.
“Of course, we’re looking at tax and spending as well,” the chancellor said when asked how she would deal with the country’s economic challenges in her 26 November statement.
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Ms Reeves was shown the first draft of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) report, revealing the size of the black hole she must fill next month, on Friday 3 October.
She has never previously publicly confirmed tax rises are on the cards in the budget, going out of her way to avoid mentioning tax in interviews two weeks ago.
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Chancellor pledges not to raise VAT
Cabinet ministers had previously indicated they did not expect future spending cuts would be used to ensure the chancellor met her fiscal rules.
Ms Reeves also responded to questions about whether the economy was in a “doom loop” of annual tax rises to fill annual black holes. She appeared to concede she is trapped in such a loop.
Asked if she could promise she won’t allow the economy to get stuck in a doom loop cycle, Ms Reeves replied: “Nobody wants that cycle to end more than I do.”
She said that is why she is trying to grow the economy, and only when pushed a third time did she suggest she “would not use those (doom loop) words” because the UK had the strongest growing economy in the G7 in the first half of this year.
What’s facing Reeves?
Ms Reeves is expected to have to find up to £30bn at the budget to balance the books, after a U-turn on winter fuel and welfare reforms and a big productivity downgrade by the OBR, which means Britain is expected to earn less in future than previously predicted.
Yesterday, the IMF upgraded UK growth projections by 0.1 percentage points to 1.3% of GDP this year – but also trimmed its forecast by 0.1% next year, also putting it at 1.3%.
The UK growth prospects are 0.4 percentage points worse off than the IMF’s projects last autumn. The 1.3% GDP growth would be the second-fastest in the G7, behind the US.
Last night, the chancellor arrived in Washington for the annual IMF and World Bank conference.
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The big issues facing the UK economy
‘I won’t duck challenges’
In her Sky News interview, Ms Reeves said multiple challenges meant there was a fresh need to balance the books.
“I was really clear during the general election campaign – and we discussed this many times – that I would always make sure the numbers add up,” she said.
“Challenges are being thrown our way – whether that is the geopolitical uncertainties, the conflicts around the world, the increased tariffs and barriers to trade. And now this (OBR) review is looking at how productive our economy has been in the past and then projecting that forward.”
She was clear that relaxing the fiscal rules (the main one being that from 2029-30, the government’s day-to-day spending needs to rely on taxation alone, not borrowing) was not an option, making tax rises all but inevitable.
“I won’t duck those challenges,” she said.
“Of course, we’re looking at tax and spending as well, but the numbers will always add up with me as chancellor because we saw just three years ago what happens when a government, where the Conservatives, lost control of the public finances: inflation and interest rates went through the roof.”
Pic: PA
Blame it on the B word?
Ms Reeves also lay responsibility for the scale of the black hole she’s facing at Brexit, along with austerity and the mini-budget.
This could risk a confrontation with the party’s own voters – one in five (19%) Leave voters backed Labour at the last election, playing a big role in assuring the party’s landslide victory.
The chancellor said: “Austerity, Brexit, and the ongoing impact of Liz Truss’s mini-budget, all of those things have weighed heavily on the UK economy.
“Already, people thought that the UK economy would be 4% smaller because of Brexit.
“Now, of course, we are undoing some of that damage by the deal that we did with the EU earlier this year on food and farming, goods moving between us and the continent, on energy and electricity trading, on an ambitious youth mobility scheme, but there is no doubting that the impact of Brexit is severe and long-lasting.”
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