Thousands of emails trying to evacuate Afghans ‘left unread’ - reports

Thousands of emails to the foreign office from MPs and charities detailing urgent cases of Afghans trying to evacuate have not even been read, The Observer has reported.

Some emails outlining the cases of Afghans who fear for their families’ lives appear to have been unopened for days even some from the Government’s own ministers, it is alleged.

An email from the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, sent on Monday was still unread on Thursday. With others from home secretary, Priti Patel, and the Tory chair of the defence select committee, Tobias Ellwood left unopened.

It calls into question the number of Afghans left behind in Kabul to be estimated at 1,100 as there were over 5,000 unopened emails, a whistleblower claimed.

It comes as Paul “Pen” Farthing, is alleged to have sent Peter Quentin, a special adviser working for the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, an expletive filled-rant the Times has reported.

In a recording sent on Monday he said: “Get me out of Afghanistan with my staff and my animals. I served for 22 years in the Royal Marine Commandos. I am not taking this b*****ks from people like you who are blocking me.

“You’ve got til tomorrow morning. I’m on Sky News around about 7.45 and your name will be the only name people are talking about.”

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Thousands of emails outlining Afghan’s cases to be evacuated to UK left unopened - report

22:55 , Barney Davis

Thousands of emails to the foreign office from MPs and charities detailing urgent cases of Afghans trying to evacuate have not even been read, The Observer has reported.

“It’s not just that MPs weren’t getting replies – their emails weren’t being read,” a source told the paper. “The inbox currently has a 5,000-email backlog. It’s not that they are the emails which haven’t been actioned. It’s not even that they are emails which haven’t been processed and put into a spreadsheet. It’s that no one has actually opened the email.

It calls into question the number of Afghans left behind in Kabul to be estimated at 1,100 as there were over 5,000 unopened emails, a whistleblower claimed.

Pen Farthing ‘launched tirade against Government advisor' - leaked audio

21:31 , Barney Davis

Paul “Pen” Farthing’s privately chartered flight departed Kabul today with 94 dogs, 74 cats and one human.

His controversial evacuation came days after he is alleged to have sent Peter Quentin, a special adviser working for the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, the Times has reported.

In a recording sent on Monday he said: “Get me out of Afghanistan with my staff and my animals. I served for 22 years in the Royal Marine Commandos. I am not taking this b*****ks from people like you who are blocking me.

“You’ve got til tomorrow morning. I’m on Sky News around about 7.45 and your name will be the only name people are talking about.”

He added if he didn’t get permission he “spend the rest of my time f***ing destroying you on social media and every other f***ing platform I can find”.

A defence source said: “Not only did he abandon his Afghan staff but they loaded up their plane with dogs at the same time as the US were loading up their 13 dead. Everyone here is absolutely broken.”

Ben Wallace praises British Army for helping ‘thousands to get to a better future and safety’

20:11 , Barney Davis

Ben Wallace has heaped praise on the armed forces for the evacuation efforts in Afghanistan.

Friend of Pen Farthing accuses MoD of smear campaign

19:47 , Barney Davis

The Ministry of Defence has been accused of launching a smear campaign against Pen Farthing by close friends and animal activists as he flies back to the UK with around 170 animals.

Afghan mother gives birth to baby girl on evacuation flight to Birmingham

19:43 , Barney Davis

A mother fleeing the death and destruction of a war-torn Kabul has given birth to a baby girl as her family flew to safety in the UK.

Soman Noori, 26, was flying at 30,000 feet on the way to Birmingham when she went into labour in the cabin.

With no doctor on board Turkish Airlines cabin crew had to improvise to deliver the baby girl who has been named Havva by her mother and father, 30-year-old husband Taj Moh Hammat.

Taliban condemn US airstrike - Reuters

17:57 , Barney Davis

The Taliban condemned on Saturday a U.S. drone strike against Islamic State militants following Thursday’s suicide attack outside Kabul airport, with a spokesman describing the operation as a “clear attack on Afghan territory”.

Zabihullah Mujahid said the Taliban expected to take full control of Kabul airport very shortly, once U.S. forces leave, and would announce a full cabinet in the coming days.

He said officials had already been appointed to run key institutions including the ministries of public health and education and the central bank. He also said he expected the serious economic turbulence which has hit the afghani currency to ease soon.

UK and Germany seek common G7 approach on Taliban

17:43 , Barney Davis

Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the situation in Afghanistan on Saturday and agreed on the need for international aid and a common approach by the G7 to the future government of Afghanistan.

“The Prime Minister and Chancellor resolved to work, alongside the rest of the G7, to put in place the roadmap on dealing with any new Afghan government discussed at last week’s leaders’ meeting,” Johnson’s office said in a statement.

“The Prime Minister stressed that any recognition and engagement with the Taliban must be conditional on them allowing safe passage for those who want to leave the country and respecting human rights.”

Musa Papal named as second victim of the Kabul airport suicide bombing

17:32 , Barney Davis

The other British victim was named as Musa Papal by his family as the second British victim of the Kabul airport suicide bombing.

British passport holder Papal, 60, left his home in North London in May to visit family in Kandahar and was killed in the airport blast.

His grandson is still missing after the blast. His family told Sky News that if they knew what would happen to him they would never of let him leave the UK.

Pictured: London cabbie killed in Kabul blast trying to save family

Taliban largely seal off Kabul airport as airlift winds down

17:10 , Barney Davis

Taliban forces sealed off Kabul’s airport Saturday to most Afghans hoping for evacuation and most NATO nations flew out their troops after two decades in Afghanistan, winding down a frantic airlift that Western leaders acknowledged was still leaving many of their citizens and local allies behind.

The United States, which says the round-the-clock flights have evacuated more than 100,000 people since the Taliban claimed Kabul on Aug. 15, was keeping up airlifts ahead of President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline for withdrawal.

Britain also was carrying out its final evacuation flights Saturday, though Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to “shift heaven and earth” to get more of those at risk from the Taliban to Britain by other means.

Sky News are reporting that Pen Farthing’s charter flight for him and 150 cats and dogs has landed in Kabul

15:12 , Barney Davis

Pen Farthing has been forced to leave his Afghan staff behind but has room for 150 cats and dogs and tonnes of pet food.The MoD had grown nervous over the flight after losing contact for several hours but Sky News has been told it has landed safely in Kabul airport.

UK Ambassador Laurie Bristow staying to last moment to evacuate 15,000 Brits and Afghans

14:45 , Barney Davis

Peny Farthing latest: MoD still haven’t located chartered flight for his 200 cats and dogs- report

14:39 , Barney Davis

12:31 , Tammy Hughes

Bank account holders gather outside a closed bank building in Kabul on August 28, 2021, following the Taliban’s military takeover of Afghanistan.

12:30 , Tammy Hughes

Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.

Afghanistan drought threatens jobs

11:11 , Tammy Hughes

A U.N. agency meanwhile has warned that a worsening drought threatens the livelihoods of more than 7 million people in Afghanistan.

The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Afghans are also suffering from the coronavirus pandemic and displacement from the recent fighting.

Earlier this month, the U.N. World Food Program estimated that some 14 million people — roughly one out of every three Afghans — urgently need food assistance.

The FAO said that crucial help is needed ahead of the winter wheat planting season, which begins in a month in many areas.

So far, funding would cover assistance to only 110,000 families of farmers, while some 1.5 million need help, the agency said, adding that the current harvest is expected to be 20% below last year’s.

Afghanistan's economic crisis deepens as airlift winds down

11:09 , Tammy Hughes

Hundreds of Afghans protested outside a bank in Kabul on Saturday and others formed long lines at cash machines.The protesters at New Kabul Bank included many civil servants demanding their salaries, which they said had not been paid for the past three to six months.

They said even though banks reopened three days ago no one has been able to withdraw cash. ATM machines are still operating, but withdrawals are limited to around $200 (£145) every 24 hours.

More attacks likely after drone strike

10:11 , Tammy Hughes

The United States launched a drone strike in Afghanistan, apparently killing an Islamic State “planner”, after the group claimed a deadly bombing outside Kabul airport, as Western forces running the airlift braced for more attacks.

Among the 92 killed in Thursday’s suicide bomb blast, claimed by Afghanistan’s Islamic State affiliate, were 13 U.S. service members, the most lethal incident for U.S. troops in Afghanistan in a decade.

“Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties,” the U.S. military said in a statement, referring to the overnight drone strike.

U.S. Central Command said the strike took place in Nangarhar province, east of Kabul and bordering Pakistan.

‘Extremely sad’ that some will be left behind

10:10 , Tammy Hughes

Tom Tugendhat, a Tory MP who fought in Afghanistan, said he was disappointed the evacuation effort was coming to an end.

The former army officer and now chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee told BBC Breakfast: “I’m extremely sad about this and I very much hope that it might go beyond the August deadline but we found out a few days ago that it wasn’t, so I was expecting it.

“It still leaves me extremely sad that so many of my friends have been left behind.

“What I am working on, and you’ll understand I’m afraid that I’m not going to give you complete details about this, we’re looking at different networks to get people into second countries, and then connecting them to high commissions and ambassadors of the United Kingdom, to get them to the UK safely.”

09:29 , Tammy Hughes

Wounded Afghans lie on a bed at a hospital after a deadly explosions outside Kabul airport that may have killed as many as 170 people.

09:26 , Tammy Hughes

Italian Carabinieri leave the airport after disembarking from Italy's final evacuation flight of refugees from Afghanistan.

Last Italian flight with Afghan refugees arrives

09:24 , Tammy Hughes

Italy’s final evacuation flight of refugees from Afghanistan has landed at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport.The Italian Air Force C-130J with 58 Afghan citizens aboard arrived Saturday morning, some 17 hours after it departed from the Kabul airport and after a planned stopover.Also aboard were Italy’s consul and a NATO diplomat who had coordinated evacuations at the Kabul airport.Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Italy was prepared to work with the United Nations and with countries bordering Afghanistan on what he described as the “more difficult phase.”

Isis-K ‘a threat’ to Britain

09:18 , Tammy Hughes

General Sir Richard Barrons has warned the affiliate of the so-called Islamic State in Afghanistan, Isis-K, is a threat to the UK.

The former senior UK military commander said it was likely Britain will have to co-operate with the Taliban in the future in light of the rise of the splinter cell, as a result of a lack of presence on the ground in Afghanistan.

Speaking about the number of casualties in Afghanistan, he told Times Radio: “What it does do is illustrate that Isis-K is a risk to the United Kingdom, here at home, and to our interests abroad.

“We’re going to find common cause with the US, and indeed I think the Taliban, in bearing down on this terrible organisation for as long as it takes to neuter them.”