Britain pulls the plug on Kabul airlift: UK will start getting soldiers out of Airport as Boris tells of his 'great regret' at leaving 150 Brits and 1,100 Afghans behind despite fears they will become Taliban hostages
On Friday night, the MoD said that that 14,543 people had now been extracted from Kabul since August 13, a mix of Afghan and British nationals, and that now the focus would turn to getting diplomats and service personnel out.
Some 8,000 of those were Afghans and their families under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme, which applies to those who helped the UK and are at risk of persecution by the Taliban. But the announcement followed warnings that Britain risks the ‘biggest hostage crisis in its history’ by leaving 1,000 Afghan allies to the mercy of the Taliban and Isis-K. The chilling warning was issued last night as Boris Johnson admitted he felt a ‘great sense of regret’ about the many hundreds that UK forces had been unable to evacuate from Kabul.
Tom Tugendhat, the chair of the Foreign Affairs committee, said the fact people would be left behind filled him with 'anger and shame' and warned 'we may find ourselves with the biggest hostage crisis the UK has ever seen.'
‘Quite rightly, British citizens and entitled persons are literally in fear of their lives right now.’
The former Army Lieutenant Colonel is one of a growing number of MPs from across the political spectrum to have accused the Government of 'failing' in its mission to keep Afghan staff safe by not completing the evacuations. Mr Tugendhat added: 'Defeat means you don't get a say... we have just been defeated, we have no influence over Kabul anymore.'
And security sources said they feared that elements of the Taliban or Isis-K could capture vulnerable Afghans or UK citizens and demand a ransom.
Britain pulls the plug on Kabul airlift: UK will start getting soldiers out of Airport | Daily Mail Online
My Comment: It looks like Biden pulled the rug out from under everyone.
