A whistleblower has exposed the extent to which Afghans’ trust in British promises of protection was betrayed in the summer
In August, with Kabul on the brink of falling to the Taliban, the then foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, was advised to call his Afghan counterpart. Facilitating the swift evacuation of translators who had been working for British forces was becoming a matter of extreme urgency. But Mr Raab – holidaying in Crete at the time – failed to pick up the phone, and indeed remained on his break as the Afghan government collapsed.
The episode suggested a culpable lack of foresight and urgency on the part of the foreign secretary, as the Taliban swept back to power with unexpected speed. But we didn’t know the half of it until this week. The testimony of a former diplomat has painted a devastating picture of the chaos that Mr Raab blithely presided over when he came back from Crete. The evidence of Raphael Marshall, published by the foreign affairs select committee, points to a chaotic, complacent and woefully underpowered crisis operation.
