Raab must go after “catastrophic failure of judgement”, Labour tells Johnson

Lisa Nandy has declared the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab must resign or be sacked by Boris Johnson after a “catastrophic failure of judgement” in response to the takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan in recent days.

Raab has been accused of failing to call Afghan foreign minster Hanif Atmar to ask for assistance to evacuate interpreters who worked for UK military personnel during the 20-year conflict as the Taliban advanced on the capital.

The UK Foreign Secretary was reportedly advised by senior officials that he should speak directly with Atmar as the group closed in on Kabul, and that it was important for Raab to make the call rather than one of his junior minister.

According to the Daily Mail, officials were told he was not available and that minister Zac Goldsmith should make the call instead. The paper said that, as Goldsmith was not Atmar’s direct equivalent, this caused a delay of a day in the call happening.

“How can Boris Johnson allow the Foreign Secretary to continue in his role after yet another catastrophic failure of judgement? If Dominic Raab doesn’t have the decency to resign, the Prime Minister must show a shred of leadership and sack him,” Nandy said today.

Her comments followed those of the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace in which he defended Raab, telling Sky News viewers that “one phone call is not the reason we are where we are” and that he had “no problem” communicating with Raab.

Labour leader Keir Starmer also criticised the Foreign Secretary this morning for failing to make the phone call to his counterpart, tweeting: “Who wouldn’t make a phone call if they were told it could save somebody’s life?”

Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds described the Foreign Secretary’s actions as “utterly shameful”, arguing: “Failing to make a call has put the lives of brave interpreters at risk, after they served so bravely with our military.”

The Taliban returned to power over the weekend, almost 20 years after the invasion of Afghanistan launched by the West with the objective of ousting the group and preventing it from harbouring al-Qaeda following the 9/11 attacks in the US.

The success of the Taliban followed the planned withdrawal of troops by the US, agreed by President Donald Trump last year. Evacuation flights are currently departing from the capital as the US and other countries fly out nationals.

At least 12 people have died at Kabul airport since Sunday and videos have emerged of people clinging onto planes. The Taliban is now reportedly blocking all Afghans, including those with visas, from reaching the tarmac.

MPs were recalled for an emergency debate on Wednesday. Boris Johnson faced criticism over his response to the withdrawal of US troops and calls to provide greater support for refugees in the wake of the government’s collapse.

Starmer accused the Prime Minister of “complacency and poor judgement” over the UK government’s response to the situation during the debate on Wednesday and called for a “generous and welcoming” resettlement scheme for refugees.

Johnson was heckled as he told MPs that the collapse of the government in Afghanistan was “faster than I think even the Taliban predicted”, but claimed: “What is not true is that UK government was unprepared or did not foresee this”.

Starmer pointed out that both Labour and Tory MPs had warned that the government was underestimating the threat of the Taliban, and that Johnson told parliament in July that the group was not “capable of victory by military means”.