Tories 'failing brave Afghans' in 'shameful saga' 2 years after Taliban takeover
The Tories are today accused of “failing brave Afghans” on the second anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover.
Tens of thousands of Afghans fled their homeland as the extremists swept back to power in Kabul as Western forces quit the war-torn country. But many more remain trapped, including some who helped British troops during their deployment in 2001 in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks.
Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey said: “The Conservatives have failed the brave Afghans who supported our troops before the fall of Afghanistan, and they have failed them since. From broken housing promises and ballooning backlogs, to data breaches and the Ministry of Defence even telling ARAP (Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy) applicants to get the Taliban to verify their documents, this is a shameful saga of government failure on multiple fronts. This is one of the most comprehensive failures of ministerial leadership and competence in recent times. Britain’s moral duty to assist these Afghans is felt most fiercely by the UK forces they served alongside.”
British troops boarded an RAF A400(M) Atlas aircraft departing from Kabul on August 28 as part of Operation Pitting (MoD Crown Copyright via Getty Im)The Government launched Operation Pitting as Taliban fighters swarmed around the capital in August 2021. RAF planes and British troops raced to pluck Afghans to safety. More than 15,000 people were airlifted on more than 100 flights in the largest British evacuation since the Second World War and the largest airlift since the Berlin Blockade of 1948–9.
Of those rescued, 5,000 were British nationals and 8,000 were Afghans who were vulnerable to persecution by the Taliban because they helped UK forces during Operation Herrick - the Ministry of Defence’s codename for the deployment to Afghanistan - from 2002–2014. Mr Healey added: “As we mark the second anniversary of the complex and courageous military airlift during Operation Pitting, ministers must act now to fix the multiple failings in their Afghan schemes."
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Veterans Affairs Minister Johnny Mercer insisted he was determined to make resettlement schemes for Afghans in the UK “work properly”. He added: "I accept that there are people in Afghanistan at the moment that we have a duty to who are not in the UK, who I want to see in the UK."
Mr Mercer, who served three tours in Afghanistan and enjoyed a military career in 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery and 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, retiring 10 years ago ago with the rank of captain, said is "very clear, from a personal perspective, as to what we owe these people" and insisted he was "determined that this Government will get it right when it comes to what we owe these people".
Critics have pointed to moves to evict from hotels Afghans offered refuge in Britain, claiming ministers are letting them down. "Clearly, hotels are not long-term accommodation options for Afghans and their families,” Mr Mercer said. "It was never the intention (for them to stay in hotels). The reality is that we've had to deal with the situation as we found it.
“There's been a longstanding challenge around housing in this country and that's collided with the reality of a very quick collapse in Afghanistan, and we've ended up where we've ended up, with Afghan families in hotels for far too long.” He admitted: “Things could always have been done differently."
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