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.
Palestine Action can still challenge the decision to ban the group under anti-terror laws after the government lost an appeal.
The group was “proscribed” in July, making it illegal to show any support or affiliation for it, following incidents that included breaking in to an RAF base.
The Home Office appealed after a court granted the group’s co-founder a judicial review and said the ban disproportionately interfered with freedom of speech and assembly.
A woman is led away by police during Palestine Action protest on 6 September. Pic: PA
It said the government should also have consulted the group first.
Despite the ban, nearly 900 supporters were arrested at a single protest in London last month.
The judicial review of the ban was scheduled to begin on 25 November and Friday’s Court of Appeal decision means it can still go ahead.
Palestine Action called it a “landmark victory” and said co-founder Huda Ammori had also been granted permission to appeal on two further grounds.
Reacting after the court’s decision, Ms Ammori called the ban “absurdly authoritarian” and “one of the most extreme attacks on civil liberties in recent British history”.
She said 2,000 people had been arrested since it was outlawed and arresting “peaceful protesters” under the Terrorism Act was a misuse of resources.
The group’s vandalising of aircraft at Brize Norton in June – with two activists reportedly entering on electric scooters – prompted a security review of UK defence sites.
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Supporters of the group vandalised aircraft at RAF Brize Norton in June
Its supporters have carried out numerous protests in the UK, with many involving vandalism and violence.
Last year, it smashed windows and sprayed red paint on Barclays branches and this summer vandalised a Bristol defence technology firm, allegedly assaulting staff and police.
Multiple rallies for the group have taken place in London since July’s ban, with hundreds detained for showing support.
A protest at the start of this month saw another 492 people arrested despite calls for the event to be scrapped after the Manchester synagogue terror attack.
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Senior government figures are meeting today to “see if there’s a way through” a ban on Israeli fans attending a football match in Birmingham.
There has been political outcry after the city’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) said it would not allow Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to attend the team’s away game against Aston Villa next month.
Politics latest: MPs condemn decision to ban Israeli fans from Birmingham match
The announcement, supported by West Midlands Police, was based partly on what happened in Amsterdam last year, when Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters attending a game against Ajax were caught up in attacks in the Dutch capital city.
Maccabi Tel Aviv fans being guarded by police in Amsterdam last November. Pic: Reuters
However, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called it “the wrong decision”, while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said it was a “national disgrace”.
Speaking to Sky News on Friday morning, science and technology minister Ian Murray revealed Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, is meeting with the Home Office in a bid to reverse the decision.
“It’s just completely and utterly unacceptable, and the prime minister has said we will do everything we possibly can to resolve this issue,” Mr Murray said.
“It’s an operational issue for the police, and government doesn’t get involved in operational issues for the police,” he said.
“But I know the Culture Secretary of State (Ms Nandy) will be meeting with the Home Office and other stakeholders today to try and see if there’s a way through this.”
West Midlands Police said it had classified the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv fixture as high risk based on “current intelligence and previous incidents”.
The force said this included violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 UEFA Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam, when more than 60 people were arrested.
Simon Foster, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, has called for an “immediate review” of the decision.
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Sky’s sports correspondent Rob Harris gives his analysis to the Commissioner’s call for review into the Israeli fan ban
However, Andrew Fox, honorary president of Aston Villa Jewish Villans supporters’ club, said the decision to ban only fans of the Israeli side is “a political message rather than a safety message”.
The decision has provoked a political row with some independent MPs welcoming the ban but senior figures in Labour, the Tories, Reform UK and the Lib Dems condemning it.
Sir Keir criticised the ban on X last night, writing: “This is the wrong decision. We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets.
“The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.”
PM ‘lacks backbone’
However, Ms Badenoch said he “lacks the backbone to stand up for Britain”, and branded the decision a “national disgrace” last night and suggested the PM reverse it.
Richard Holden, the shadow transport minister, claimed “nobody believes this is an operational issue”.
He told Sky News: “There’s clearly political pressure being put on. It’s quite clear that there needs to be political leadership from the prime minister to ensure that this can’t go ahead.”
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‘The entire thing stinks’
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Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group is made up of officials from the local authority, emergency responders – including the police – and event organisers.
Ayoub Khan, the independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, who had called for the match to be cancelled, welcomed the decision.
He said in a statement that “with so much hostility around the match… it was right to take drastic measures”.
Later on BBC Newsnight, he said there were “vile chants of racism and hatred” at the Maccabi Tel Aviv match in Amsterdam last year and the prime minister should “stay out of operational matters”.
How have football clubs reacted?
UEFA, which runs the Europa League, urged UK authorities to make sure Maccabi Tel Aviv fans could attend the match.
Aston Villa said the decision followed safety concerns raised by officers.
They said in a statement: “Following a meeting this afternoon, the SAG has formally written to the club and UEFA to advise no away fans will be permitted to attend Villa Park for this fixture.
“West Midlands Police have advised the SAG that they have public safety concerns outside the stadium bowl and the ability to deal with any potential protests on the night.
“The club are in continuous dialogue with Maccabi Tel Aviv and the local authorities throughout this ongoing process, with the safety of supporters attending the match and the safety of local residents at the forefront of any decision.”
Villa Park. File pic: PA
Jack Angelides, chief executive of Maccabi Tel Aviv, said he did not want to take security issues lightly but said the team has travelled to places such as Turkey where he said the sentiment is “not so kind towards Israeli teams” but the police “were out in force” and there were no incidents.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “So I do find it somewhat difficult to understand why this has come to pass in the sense that our fans cannot be secure in attending this match.
“And also begs the question a little bit to be honest – well, there is a delegation coming of management, of players, and all the supporting staff, are we saying that they will be secure also or that there are issues with them?”
He said he understood the reasons given for the ban and tries to avoid interfering in how other countries should behave.
“But I do think this is an extremely important moment because of what it signifies,” he added.
“I don’t use this term lightly but people ask ‘what does antisemitism look like?’ And it’s often manifested as part of a process, a process in other words small events – leading up to something that’s more sinister.”
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