Afghanistan: The key questions for Dominic Raab as he faces MPs over Taliban takeover
The Foreign Secretary will be questioned by MPs later on how the government intends to deal with the fall-out from the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Parliament is still on its summer break, but an emergency session of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee will take evidence from Dominic Raab this afternoon.
Here are some of the key questions he could be asked:
What is being done to get the remaining UK nationals and eligible Afghans out of the country?
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‘Low level’ of Britons left in Afghanistan
The foreign secretary has said the number of British nationals still in Afghanistan was in the “low hundreds” and acknowledged it would be a “challenge” for them to leave.
Mr Raab said it was not possible to put a precise figure on the number of Afghan nationals still in the country who may also be eligible for resettlement in the UK.
The foreign secretary has been keen to emphasise that evacuation efforts so far have seen 17,000 British nationals, Afghans who worked with the UK, and other vulnerable people removed from Afghanistan.
But MPs will likely press him to put an estimate on how many have been left behind – Labour have suggested there could be a further 7,000 Afghans with a claim for resettlement.
The government has said it is working with neighbouring countries to ensure people who are able to flee Afghanistan via its land borders can still apply for resettlement to the UK from third countries.
MPs will want to know what work, if any, is now being done to make those cross-border journeys viable, as well as what has been done so far to ensure effective processing in third countries is possible.
What is the latest security assessment of the Taliban takeover?
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Taliban members line up at Kabul airport
The prime minister has said any future diplomatic recognition of the new Taliban government would depend on the regime preventing Afghanistan from “becoming an incubator for global terror“.
But the suicide bombings at the airport in Kabul, US airstrikes on alleged ISIS-K cells, and reports of al Qaeda figures regrouping all suggest extremist activity in the country already presents a tangible counter-terrorism challenge .
Questions are likely to be asked about how internal tension within the Taliban itself – between senior leaders previously involved in the Doha talks with the US, and more traditional hardliners – could exacerbate an already worrying security picture.
With the Taliban now in possession of significant amounts of military hardware left behind by the Afghan army and withdrawing US troops, as well as sensitive documents not destroyed when western embassies were abandoned, MPs will want to hear the latest security assessment in terms of Afghanistan itself and also the impact on the global terror threat.
Yesterday Mr Raab refused to rule out the possibility of the RAF joining US airstrikes against terror cells in the country.
How does the UK government intend to deal with the Taliban?
When it comes to security, humanitarian or human rights issues in Afghanistan, the UK government has said it wants to work with the international community to have a “moderating influence” on the Taliban.
But apart from the tacit acceptance that there will need to be some form of engagement with the Taliban, there remains little detail on how this will be done in practise.
The indications so far suggest the government hopes to use the prospect of humanitarian aid and diplomatic recognition of the new government to encourage the Taliban to refrain from returning to some of its most extreme practices, but there will likely be questions about how sanctions may also be needed to exert influence.
Will the UK reassess its relationship with the US?
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‘It was time to end this war’ – Biden
When he announced this emergency committee hearing last week, chairman Tom Tugendhat made a point of saying the UK’s diplomatic dependence on the US should be reconsidered in light of events in Afghanistan.
He described the Taliban takeover as the “biggest foreign policy failure since Suez and highlights once again the importance of building up networks of allies, not having a single partner”.
In January the Lords Select Committee on International Relations published a report which warned the US withdrawal was likely to have dangerous consequences that ministers appeared not to have properly assessed.
The report claimed the UK government had “shown little inclination to exert an independent voice on policy in Afghanistan” and “instead has followed the lead of the US and has been too reticent in raising its distinctive voice”.
Mr Raab is likely to be asked whether the failure to persuade the US to limit or delay its withdrawal from Afghanistan was the result of a lack of influence, or a lack of effort.
Was this a failure of intelligence, planning or both?
During interviews yesterday Dominic Raab accepted there had been a failure of military intelligence when it came to forecasting the speed at which the Taliban might take over the country.
He said “the best central assessment was that you would see a slow deterioration from the end of the drawdown in September and that Kabul would not have fallen for several months”.
But the foreign secretary is likely to be asked whether this is a sufficient explanation for the chaotic nature of the evacuation in recent weeks, which left ministers forced to accept the reality that some people would not get out.
In July senior military figures wrote a joint letter in The Times which warned of a lack of urgency in efforts to resettle Afghans who had worked with UK forces out of the country.
How culpable is Mr Raab and his department?
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‘With hindsight, I wouldn’t have gone away’
The Foreign Office, Home Office and Ministry of Defence have all been heavily involved in the evacuation efforts, and briefing wars have erupted between them over which department and which ministers are most responsible for failings that have taken place.
But Dominic Raab has come in for more personal criticism than any other minister, with opposition parties demanding he resign or be sacked.
He has acknowledged that “in hindsight” he should have returned early from his holiday on the Greek island of Crete on the weekend Kabul fell to the Taliban, but MPs will no doubt question him on the consequences that may have resulted from that decision.
He has argued his decision to ignore advice to call the Afghan foreign minister on the Friday before the capital fell, which he instead delegated to a junior minister, made no difference because the advice to make the call was “quickly overtaken by events”.
But MPs on the committee will likely want to probe this further, not least due to wider issues about how many other ministers and senior civil servants were absent from Whitehall in those critical days.
Rachel Reeves has been warned that firms face a “make-or-break moment” at next month’s budget.
The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) urged the chancellor, who is widely expected to announce tax hikes in November’s budget to fill a gap in the public finances, to steer clear of increasing levies on businesses.
Ms Reeves raised taxes by £40bn last year and the BCC said business confidence had not recovered since.
“Last year’s budget took the wind from their sails, and they have been struggling to find momentum ever since,” BCC director-general Shevaun Haviland said.
She said firms felt “drained” and could not plan ahead as they expected “further tax demands to be laid at their feet” when the budget is delivered on 26 November.
“The chancellor must seize this moment and use her budget to deliver a pro-growth agenda that can restore optimism and belief amongst business leaders,” Ms Haviland added.
“This year’s budget will be a make-or-break moment for many firms.”
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The BCC also called for a reform of business rates and the removal of the windfall tax on gas and oil introduced by the last government.
In its submission, the industry body outlined more than 60 recommendations, including the proposal of further infrastructure investment, cuts to customs barriers and action on skill shortages.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced Labour would aim to approve 150 major infrastructure projects by the next election, with Labour already pledging to support expansions of both Heathrow and Gatwick airports – another of the BCC’s requests.
While the Treasury would not comment on budget speculation, a spokesperson insisted Ms Reeves would “strike the right balance” between ensuring funding for public services and securing economic growth.
She has vowed to stick to Labour’s manifesto pledges not to raise taxes on “working people”.
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Household spending on the wane
The BCC’s plea to halt further tax rises on businesses comes as retail sales growth slowed in September.
“With the budget looming large, and households facing higher bills, retail spending rose more slowly than in recent months,” Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said.
“Rising inflation and a potentially taxing budget is weighing on the minds of many households planning their Christmas spending.”
Total retail sales in the UK increased by 2.3% year-on-year in September, against growth of 2% in September 2024 and above the 12-month average growth of 2.1%, according to BRC and KPMG data.
While food sales were up by 4.3% year-on-year, this was largely driven by inflation rather than volume growth.
Non-food sales growth slowed to 0.7% against the growth of 1.7% last September, making it below the 12-month average growth of 0.9%.
Total retail sales in the UK increased in September compared to the year before. File pic: PA
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Online non-food sales only increased by 1% against last September’s growth of 3.4%, which was below the 12-month average growth of 1.8%.
“The future of many large anchor stores and thousands of jobs remains in jeopardy while the Treasury keeps the risk of a new business rates surtax on the table,” Ms Dickinson said.
“By exempting these shops when the budget announcements are made, the chancellor can reduce the inflationary pressures hammering businesses and households alike.”
I’ve been around a while and seen a lot of the insides of international summits over the years, but this one was truly extraordinary.
Over 20 leaders flew to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt from all over the world – Indonesia, Pakistan, Norway, Canada – to witness the signing of Donald Trump’s peace plan.
Gaza deal signed – as it happened
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‘We have peace in Middle East’
This historic day was pure theatre for Trump from start to finish. Flying in from Israel, where he had met hostage families and then addressed the Israeli parliament, he arrived a whopping three hours late, keeping a gaggle of world leaders waiting.
We stood around in corridors watching them move from one room to another to hold meetings with each other, presumably to talk about phase two of Trump’s peace deal.
Testimony to the power of Trump
At one point, Sir Keir Starmer’s meeting with his Turkish counterpart included France’s Emmanuel Macro. That then somehow morphed into a summit which also brought in the Germans, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the leaders of Egypt and Qatar. More chairs kept coming into the room until there was the equivalent of a cabinet table of leaders and advisors sitting in a long line facing each other.
What they were talking about was how each country could help in phase two of the peace effort. Now Trump had, alongside fellow signatories of this deal – Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey – ended the war, could they maintain the peace?
As Starmer put it: “We can’t treat today as historic and let it drop tomorrow.”
But these mini summits in the margins happened by fault rather than design. This day really was designed to bear witness – and offer acknowledgement – to Trump. All of these leaders turned up pretty much in the dark as to what the day held, with his peace summit convened 48 hours earlier.
That they dropped plans to make their way to Egypt is testimony to the power Trump wields.
World leaders at the Gaza peace summit
He was utterly omnipotent. First, there was the greeting ceremony, in which each leader filed in individually for a photo and handshake with him before all returning to the stage for the family photo.
Then, at the signing ceremony, Trump sat with his three fellow signatories as the world leaders stood behind him.
“This took 3,000 years to get to this point. Can you believe it?” Trump said as he signed that deal. “And it’s going to hold up, too. It’s going to hold up.”
Finally, in another giant hall, Trump gave a speech in which he ran through all the leaders who had turned up – praising them or fondly poking a bit of fun at them accordingly, as (most) of them stood behind him.
He teased Macron for sitting in the front row rather than joining the others on the stage, joking it wasn’t like him to be low-key. He described Meloni as a “beautiful young woman”.
“I’m not allowed to say it because usually it’s the end of your political career if you say it – she’s a beautiful young woman,” said Trump mid-speech. “You don’t mind being called beautiful, right? Because you are,” he turned to say to her – her reaction obscured from view.
Now for the ‘easy part’?
Soon after, the prime minister of Pakistan, invited to say a few remarks by Trump, renewed his call for the US president to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Having brokered the deal, Trump took the moment and made it into his summit on his terms, as fellow leaders fell into line, literally standing behind him. And in his characteristic bullishness, he told his audience in this final speech that the hard part – the ceasefire – had been done, and rebuilding Gaza was the easy part.
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer
That isn’t really what the rest of them believe: 92% of Gazans have been displaced, the Gaza Strip is a wasteland. Organising a peacekeeping force, getting Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw from the strip, putting together a technocratic team and peace board to oversee the running of Gaza still needs to be done.
This was a largely celebratory day, but there are concerns whether this deal will hold up. Trump says Hamas needs to disarm and disband, and yet one of their most senior leaders told Sky News a few days ago, it won’t.
Meanwhile, there is a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The UK has in short order sent in £20m of aid to try to help with sanitation.
On the British side, the prime minister said he had offered to help demilitarise the strip, saying the UK can take a role in “monitoring the ceasefire but also decommissioning the capability of Hamas and their weaponry, drawing on our experience in Northern Ireland”.
“It’s really important we keep that focus. We mustn’t have any missteps now,” he said.
Drone footage of Gaa
Trump’s peace board is still in its infancy – Starmer told me he isn’t going to sit on it, with the make-up still being discussed, while Tony Blair’s participation is controversial.
Trump said on the way over to Egypt that he was going to canvass opinion to make sure everyone is happy with the former prime minister’s presence. It comes after Bassem Naim of Hamas told Sky News that Blair was not welcome in Gaza after his role in the invasion of Iraq.
When I asked Starmer if he thought Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize he said “there’ll be plenty of people, I’m sure, nominating him” – as he paid tribute to him for getting “leaders to this position”.
Now the task for them all is to implement what Trump has set in train. If his plan works, he would be sitting on an achievement that has eluded successive US presidents for decades.
Trump should rightly be lauded for ending the war, now he must bring the peace.
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