PM’s request to be made at G7 summit as Taliban increases grip on access to flights
Boris Johnson will personally lobby Joe Biden at the G7 leaders summit, No 10 said on Sunday night, pleading with him to keep US troops at Kabul airport beyond the end of August, after a weekend of tension between the UK and its closest ally.
With the Taliban tightening their grip at the airport, Downing Street confirmed the PM would lobby the US president on Tuesday at the virtual meeting. The news came as Taliban forces sought to assert their authority, blaming the US for the “anarchy” at the airport and insisting they were the only ones capable of restoring order. Throughout the day, Taliban fighters fired their guns into the air and used batons to force people into orderly queues in an attempt to halt the desperate scenes in which at least 20 people have died.
