Britain working to keep airport open in Afghanistan after troops withdraw

Published

4 years ago

August 24, 2021

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Britain is actively working to keep an airport open in Afghanistan after the final withdrawal of troops, Sky News understands.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after Tuesday’s G7 summit that the number one priority for the West in coming months was to ensure safe passage for people who want to leave Afghanistan after 31 August when Western forces withdraw.

More specifics about this effort were revealed when the foreign secretary briefed MPs.

Dominic Raab told MPs that the government wants to see a functioning airport after the troops’ departure, appearing to suggest commercial flights might be able take people out of the country in future.

“If we want to do this in a more managed way and really take the steep angle off the cliff edge, what we really could do with is the Taliban being able to run a functional airport in Kabul,” he said.

He added that neighbouring countries could help uphold international aviation standards at the airport to keep it open.

“I’m sure there will be various neighbouring countries that will want to see if they can help them keep that airport open or indeed whether they want to get in members of the previous government, or the officials, to do that job.”

This would appear to be part of an attempt to ensure a more enlightened Taliban, rather than the return of what Mr Raab called “Taliban 1.0” – the type of regime that ran Afghanistan until 2001.

Mr Raab said: “We’ll use all levers we can to try and secure a transitional government whereby the Taliban takes in a broader range of Afghan political figures and leaders, and then also try make sure they can live up to better standards of human rights and wider government standards than what we saw with – if I can put it that way – Taliban 1.0.”

The British government is also looking with allies to create land routes within Afghanistan to help people reach neighbouring countries from where they can fly to the UK, something the Taliban is already making clear it opposes.

Mr Raab said: “I think the important ask of (the Taliban) now, in the same way as I mentioned ‘do they really want humanitarian aid given the potential collapse?’ Are they going to keep this going? Are they going to continue to allow nationals, (people with the right to reside in Britain), special cases, to leave?

“And I think that when we think of the range of levers that we’ve got, we can use these levers to say to the Taliban, we expect – and they are already committing to allow a safe passage out.”

Western countries believe they have strong economic leverage in the coming months.

Mr Raab said they believe that the Taliban’s single biggest priority is to avoid economic collapse after Western powers leave the country. This might give the West some influence in Afghanistan, as it means the Taliban could be seeking access to finance, access to development spending and fear the impact of sanctions.

“We will use every lever at our disposal to achieve that, from access to the international finance system, to the conditions we set around being willing to provide ODA (development assistance) through to sanctions,” he said.

Mr Raab said they hoped to gain assistance from other key countries not in the G7 such as China, India and Pakistan.

However this remark acknowledges a coordinated response from the international community could prove challenging if countries like Russia and China seek advantage by deciding to deal bilaterally with the new Afghan government.

The ideal way of dealing with the Taliban government in future would mirror that used in the Balkans, Mr Raab said.

He said he wanted an “international contact group” which the Western powers could use to liaise with the new Taliban government, based on the model from the former Yugoslavia.

He said they are “likely to have more influence on (the) Taliban with a broader group of countries who can really try and moderate what is happening on (the) ground.”

Mr Raab told MPs that almost all “mono national Britons (Britons without dual nationality)” have been evacuated, but he refused to be drawn on the numbers who would be left behind.

He stressed that the last few days would make “all the difference” and insisted the UK was still working on routes out of the country using airports both inside and outside Afghanistan.

“We have probably now got through – not all – but the lion’s share – the vast majority of the documented UK mono-nationals.”

After British citizens have been evacuated, Mr Raab said the next priorities for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) would be female human rights activists, female judges, members of the LBGT+ community and the children of British passport holders where the lack of documentation for children whose parents are eligible to go to the UK is keeping the whole family in country.

Mr Raab told the 100 MPs on the call that there had been 11,000 people evacuated from April to August.

Politics

Why are abuse survivors losing faith in the grooming gang inquiry?

Published

3 hours ago

October 22, 2025

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Why are abuse survivors losing faith in the grooming gang inquiry?

The grooming gangs inquiry has been plunged into disarray this week before it has even started, as four survivors have quit the panel and two frontrunners for chairperson have withdrawn.

The inquiry was announced in June, but frustrations have grown over the pace of progress towards launching it, with pressure mounting on the government to appoint a chair and set out its terms of reference.

Survivors Fiona Goddard and Ellie-Ann Reynolds were first to stand down from their roles over concerns about who could head the inquiry and fears it may be “watered down” – something Sir Keir Starmer has denied, insisting that “injustice will have no place to hide”.

Both candidates shortlisted to lead the inquiry have now pulled out.

Here’s what we know about why panel members have quit and what the government has said in response.

Concerns over inquiry chairs

The resignations came after Sky News revealed the two shortlisted chairs for the inquiry were former police chief Jim Gamble and social worker Annie Hudson.

Ms Goddard was the first to resign from the survivors’ liaison panel, expressing deep reservations about the candidates: “One has a background in police and the other, a social worker. The very two services that contributed most to the cover-up of the national mass rape and trafficking of children.

“This is a disturbing conflict of interest, and I fear the lack of trust in services from years of failings and corruption will have a negative impact in survivor engagement with this inquiry.”

The other survivors who resigned also took issue with the shortlisted chairs in their statements.

Ms Hudson withdrew her candidacy on Tuesday, while Mr Gamble pulled out of the running on Wednesday.

In a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood explaining his decision, Mr Gamble said it was “clear that a lack of confidence due to my previous occupation exists among some” and that he did not want to proceed without a consensus among the victims.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that candidates to chair that inquiry have withdrawn. This is an extremely sensitive topic, and we have to take the time to appoint the best person suitable for the role.”

Speaking to Sky News after Mr Gamble’s resignation, Ms Reynolds said: “The minute that we found out their former employment, it raised red flags.”

She claimed they represented “the very institutions that have failed us” and that their views would not have been “unbiased” or “impartial”.

During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir said his government “will find the right person to chair the inquiry”, but did not mention names.

Ms Reynolds and other victims have called for a judge to chair the inquiry, but Sir Keir said he ruled that out because it would require all ongoing criminal proceedings to finish before the inquiry could begin, leading to lengthy delays.

“We’ve waited years for the truth,” Ms Reynolds said. “The timing really doesn’t matter. As long as we know that it’s going to be done properly and impartially… we would be able to wait to ensure that that’s done.”

The full statutory inquiry into how cases of child sexual exploitation have been handled across England and Wales was announced by Sir Keir after an audit by Baroness Louise Casey found children had been failed by the systems in place to protect them.

On Wednesday, Sir Keir said Baroness Casey would be working in support of the inquiry.

Claims about poor treatment of survivors

Ms Reynolds said survivors were “kept in the dark” and “treated with contempt and ignored” when they asked about Home Office meetings and decisions. She said it was made clear that “speaking openly would jeopardise our place on the panel”.

She told Sky News that victims were “gaslit” and “manipulated” during the process and they had “very little faith in authorities and systems”.

Similarly, Ms Goddard claimed a “toxic, fearful environment” had been created for survivors on the panel, with “condescending and controlling language” used towards them.

Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips has said she “regrets” resignations from the inquiry and that it was “always sad when victims feel that they can’t take part in a process”.

On Wednesday, Sir Keir said: “I respect the views of all the survivors, and there are different views, I accept that.”

He added that the door was open for people to return to the inquiry panel if they wished.

Fears of ‘diluted’ inquiry

The survivors say they fear the inquiry could be diluted, suggesting the Home Office could broaden its scope beyond group-based sexual abuse and push for it to have a regional focus rather than being truly national.

Ms Goddard said the survivors had “repeatedly faced suggestions from officials to expand this inquiry” and that it risked being “watered down”.

Ms Reynolds said the “final turning point” in her decision to quit the panel was the “push to widen the remit of the National Inquiry in ways that downplay the racial and religious motivations behind our abuse”.

Ms Phillips said allegations that the inquiry is being diluted or intentionally delayed were “false” and that it would “remain laser-focused on grooming gangs”.

Ms Goddard claimed this amounted to the minister calling her “a liar” and said she should apologise and resign.

Ms Reynolds also said she believed Ms Phillips was “unfit for the role”.

During PMQs on Wednesday, Sir Keir defended the safeguarding minister, saying she and Baroness Casey were the “right people” to take the inquiry forward.

He insisted the inquiry “is not and will never be watered down” and that “its scope will not change”.

“It will examine the ethnicity and religion of the offenders, and we will find the right person to chair the inquiry,” he said.

‘They should start again’

The father of a grooming gang victim says the government “should start again” with the national inquiry.

Marlon West, whose daughter Scarlett was a victim of sexual exploitation in Manchester, told Sky News that public “faith” has been “lost”.

He described Ms Phillips in parliament this week as “unprofessional” and “defensive rather than listening to what survivors are saying.”

“I doubt she will resign but she has lost any kind of faith from the public, and more importantly with survivors and families.

He wants to see an inquiry with family members included alongside survivors on the panel.

“Not that I want to go on it, if I’m honest,” he said, “but it’s the families who are dealing with the services, not so much the survivors.

“It’s really important that they get family perspective. I think they should start again.”

Government denies ‘watered down’ approach

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood responded to the resignations saying the scope of the inquiry “will not change” and that it will leave “no hiding place” for those involved in the scandal.

In an article for The Times, she vowed the probe “will never be watered down on my watch” – and said it will focus on how “some of the most vulnerable people in this country” were abused “at the hands of predatory monsters”.

The home secretary also insisted the inquiry will be “robust and rigorous” – with the power to compel witnesses, and examine the ethnicity and religion of the offenders.

Speaking to Times Radio on Wednesday, Ms Goddard said the Home Secretary’s statement was “reassuring” but reiterated that Ms Phillips should resign.