Pen Farthing latest news – Dog rescue mission ‘will inspire TERROR as extremists say UK puts Afghans lower than animals’
PEN Farthing's rescued dogs are adjusting to life in quarantine after jetting into Heathrow from Afghanistan over the weekend.
But the rescue mission itself has been heavily criticised for making it appear the West was prioritises evacuating dogs over saving Afghan people.
Pen Farthing himself has argued the animals travelled in the hold of a plane where humans can't travel, therefore meaning the dogs and cats he saved were not taking the place of people on board.
But while he refused to leave Afghanistan until he knew his dogs would be with him, Farthing did leave 68 members of his mostly female Afghan staff behind at the airport when their paperwork wasn't approved.
Such a move will be exploited by Taliban, Al Qaeda and ISIS extremists around the world, one Guardian columnist , as they will use it to further their propaganda that the West considers Muslims lives cheap.
Read our Kabul explosion live blog for the latest updates...
PEN FARTHING SAYS ‘HUMAN MISERY’ HE SAW IN KABUL ‘WILL TAKE A LONG TIME TO GET OUT OF HIS HEAD’
The ex marine continued: “I think it’ll take a long time to ever get out of my head having to say goodbye to the two members of staff who drove the truck for me to get me into the airport along roads just lined with people.
“There were thousands and thousands of them in makeshift camps waiting for their turn to try to get into the airport – women, children…”
He added: “And you should have seen the human misery in that hangar – the possessions people had left behind – photographs, hats, children’s toys.
“I was sitting amongst all that when someone tweeted about my foul-mouthed rant [to Defence Minister Ben Wallace’s special advisor Peter Quentin."
KEY POINTS FROM RAAB IN PARLIAMENT
- Afghan guards at the British embassy in Kabul were among those left behind, Mr Raab said
- He was adamant he ordered a portrait of The Queen at the embassy to be destroyed so the Taliban wouldn't get it
- Mr Raab said the central assessment of the UK Government was that Kabul was "unlikely" to fall in 2021
- He estimated the amount of Brits left in Afghanistan was "in the mid to low hundreds"
- He was pressed about his luxury holiday to Crete but refused to reveal any more details, branding probes a "fishing expedition"
- Mr Raab said he never considered quitting during the crisis
DOMINIC RAAB REVEALS HE’S FLYING TO AFGHANISTAN REGION TONIGHT AFTER GRILLING FROM MPS ABOUT THE CRISIS
The Foreign Secretary's handling of one of Britain's biggest overseas crises in modern times is under the microscope in Parliament this afternoon.
He is already on the ropes for a series of blunders - with colleagues privately calling him "Minister Meathead" because he's destined for the chop.
Showing he's getting on with the job, the Foreign Sec revealed he is leaving straight after the session to fly to Asia.
He said: "We're always very careful about signalling travel movements because of the security implications.
"But I can tell you I'm leaving after this committee to go to the region."
He did not disclose where in Asia he'll be visiting, but it could include Qatar where British officials have been based.
‘LIONS OF PANJSHIR’ KILL ‘DOZENS OF TALIBAN & STOCKPILE STADIUM FULL OF WEAPONS’
Heavy fighting has been reported to have broken out along the fringes of the Panjshir Valley - the last region holding out against the extremist group.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, a senior Taliban official, this morning said talks with the resistance have collapsed - but continued to call for their surrender so they can join the "Islamic Emirate".
Casualties have been reported on both sides, but the Taliban are reported to have potentially lost dozens of fighters in a series of assaults on the seemingly impenetrable fortress.
The valley, an area just 80 miles north of Kabul, is regarded as a natural stronghold which has never been conquered due its mountainous sides and narrow roads - fending off the Soviets in the 80s and the Taliban in the 90s.
The narrow valley is still littered with the remnants of armoured vehicles - echoes of the unsuccessful attacks launched by the Russians.
Thousands of anti-Taliban fighters have gathered in the 1,400 square mile bastion - and have become known as the "Lions of Panjshir".
ONLY HALF OF 69 FEMALE AFGHAN MPs EVACUATED
Around half of Afghanistan’s female MPs are stuck in the country and now risk being murdered by the Taliban.
The Islamist group has already forced women out of their jobs and it is believed the women – many of whom have actively campaigned for women’s rights over the past 20 years – now risk being murdered.
When questioned about this by journalist Tom Newton Dunn on Times Radio this morning, Home Office minister Victoria Atkins said she was “very, very conscious of the threats that so many people are facing”.
Newton Dunn had earlier tweeted a thread about the plight of these 30 plus women who are now in hiding with some forced to move from safe house to safe house with their families to escape the fighters hunting them down.
DOZENS OF HERO SERVICE DOGS FACING SLAUGHTER AFTER BEING ABANDONED TO THE MERCY OF TALIBAN AS US TROOPS FLEE AFGHANISTAN
The specially-trained pooches have been left at the terror group’s mercy after the final US jet left Kabul last night, with the innocent animals now facing a “death sentence”.
Dozens of service dogs have been left behind, as well as a number of US citizens and billions of pounds worth of military equipment.
The abandonment has been slammed by animal welfare charity American Humane, which has branded the situation “senseless”.
Robin R. Ganzert, the organisation’s CEO said in a statement: “I am devastated by reports that the American government is pulling out of Kabul and leaving behind brave US military contract working dogs to be tortured and killed at the hand of our enemies.
“These brave dogs do the same dangerous, lifesaving work as our military working dogs, and deserved a far better fate than the one to which they have been condemned.”
GLOATING TALIBAN POSE IN FIGHTER JETS AS SATELLITE SNAP SHOWS AIRCRAFT TREASURE TROVE
The grinning jihadis sat in the cockpits of gunships and rode on the bonnets of US Air Force Humvees as they strutted about the airport hours after Joe Biden’s troops finally left Afghanistan.
Taliban Badri special force fighters were pictured training on the grounds of Kabul airport while other jihadis rummaged through hangars full of discarded kit and abandoned helicopters.
In one picture, a fighter is seen taking pictures of the damaged Chinook choppers left behind, while others explore the inside of a US Air Force plane.
PEN FARTHING SAYS HE’S ‘NOT WORRIED WHAT POLITICIANS ARE SAYING’ ABOUT HIM AS HE APOLOGISES TO PETER QUENTIN
Pen continued: “Peter Quentin had told me six days before the staff had been approved to leave the country but, for whatever reason, they wouldn’t give me the paperwork.
“You can imagine as the window between where we were and when the Americans were pulling out got smaller and smaller I was getting pretty stressed.
“Quentin was the only person I had a phone number for. I guess that’s why he got both barrels. As far as the person who decided to release that voicemail is concerned, if that’s their priority in life let them crack on. I’ve apologised for the language I used but that’s it.”
He defiantly added: “I’m not worried about what some politician is saying about me. That’s not on my radar.
“What’s on my radar is that this ill-thought out withdrawal has destroyed a country overnight and cost countless lives.”
DOMINIC RAAB ADMITS HE AND STAFF DID NOT HAVE LEAVE CANCELLED IN AUGUST
Dominic Raab has been told it was a "bad idea" for him, the Prime Minister and senior Government officials to take holidays during the evacuation of Kabul airport, while all military leave was cancelled for the operation.
The Foreign Secretary confirmed that his department's staff did not have their summer leave cancelled during the evacuation, although the military personnel involved did.
SNP MP Stewart Malcolm McDonald asked: "I understand that the involved military leave was cancelled on 23 July. Did you initiate a similar process for the Foreign Office?"
Mr Raab replied: "No, what I did was make sure that we had cover, a decent rota, specifically because we didn't know for how long this would endure.
"Of course we were pressing for an extension of the window, in which case you need to make sure with emergency responses and indeed your te
BOB SEELY ASKED WHY AFGHANISTAN WAS NOT VIEWED LIKE OUR COMMITMENTS IN OTHER COUNTRIES
Western forces have been in South Korea since the Korean War ended in stalemate between North and South in 1953.
Western peacekeepers have been in Cyprus since 1974 after Turkey invaded the island in response to a government coup instigated by a military junta back in Greece. Both the coup in Cyprus and the junta in Greece collapsed and Turkish troops withdrew to the north-east of the island where they remained ever since. The rest of Cyprus is an independent country and EU member while Turkish Cyprus is only recognised by Turkey.
UN WARNS OF FOOD CRISIS IN AFGHANISTAN
A senior UN official has warned that food in Afghanistan could run out this month, threatening to add a hunger crisis to the challenges facing the country's new Taliban rulers as they endeavor to restore stability after decades of war.
Ramiz Alakbarov said Wednesday that about one third of the country's population of 38 million is facing "emergency" or "crisis" levels of food insecurity. Alakbarov is the local UN humanitarian coordinator. With winter coming and a severe drought ongoing, more money is needed to feed the population.
He said the UN's World Food Program has brought in food and distributed it to tens of thousands of people in recent weeks. But of the $1.3 billion needed for aid efforts, only 39% has been received.
Alakbarov said: "Without additional funding, food stocks will run out at the end of September."
DOMINIC RAAB UNSURE OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO AFGHANS WHO GUARDED BRITISH EMBASSY
On whether Afghans who worked as guards at the UK embassy have been evacuated, Mr Raab said: "We wanted to get some of those embassy guards through but the buses arranged to collect them, to take them to airport, were not given permission to enter."
He was unable to answer what had happened after that.
Asked if he owed an apology to Afghans and soldiers put at risk, Mr Raab told MPs: "I think we owe them every effort to get those out that we did - the 17,000 since April - and now to focus on the new reality in Afghanistan."
DOMINIC RAAB NEVER CONSIDERED RESIGNING OVER CONTROVERSY
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said he never considered resigning over the handling of the evacuation of Afghanistan.
Raab has been slammed for "being asleep at wheel" with rumours of him paddleboarding in Crete as Kabul fell (which he has denied).
When asked if he had considered his position by MPs on the Foreign Affairs select committee, he insisted he had only thought about getting on with the job at hand.
Earlier in the session he said he did not think any country fared better than the UK in trying to get their people out.
DOMINIC RAAB SAYS ALL AFGHANS ON LIST OF LEFT BEHIND AT KABUL EMBASSY ARE IN UK
Speaking to the Foreign Affairs select committee, Dominic Raab said the people on a list the contact details of Afghans who worked with the British government or submitted CVs for work left in British embassy for the Taliban to find are now in the UK.
The Times reported last week that a list of names had been left on a desk in the deserted embassy where they could be found by the Taliban. But Raab told MPs the newspaper gave the names to the government which acted to get them out of the country as fast as possible now they were at heightened risk.
DOMINIC RAAB SAYS HOLIDAY CONTROVERSY IS A 'FISHING EXPEDITION' IN EXCHANGE WITH LABOUR MP
Dominic Raab refused to offer further details when pressed about the timing of his Crete holiday, labelling the questions a "fishing expedition".
Labour former foreign office minister Chris Bryant said: "On August 11, the US said the Taliban were likely to seize the whole country, it was just a question of how long it was going to take. Were you already on holiday?"
Raab said the central assessment judged there would be Taliban "consolidation of power" but it would take place in the "months following the evacuation".
Bryant pressed Raab on his holiday, with the minister repeating he "would not have gone away, with the benefit of hindsight", before insisting: "I am not going to start adding to, frankly, the fishing expedition beyond the facts that I have articulated and the fulsome statement and having answered questions on this continuously."
Conservative MP and former soldier Bob Seely earlier asked if the Government was caught "slightly on the hop" due to an "intelligence failure", with Raab replying: "We always try and... game out for these things.
"We've got a very professional way of approaching these things but when they're wrong... you need to look at how you correct that."
UK HAS OPENED TALKS WITH TALIBAN TO GET REMAINING ELIGIBLE AFGHANS AND BRITS OUT
UK officials and the Taliban are in talks over how to secure “safe passage” out of Afghanistan for British nationals and Afghan allies.
Downing Street confirmed Sir Simon Gass, the Prime Minister’s special representative for Afghan transition, has travelled to Qatar and is meeting with “senior Taliban representatives” to stress the importance of allowing people to leave Afghanistan.
The news emerged as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced 15 crisis response specialists are being deployed to Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to assist British diplomats in their work to allow people to escape Afghanistan over land borders and reach the UK.
The officials are expected to arrive within the next 48 hours, with the focus on helping UK nationals, interpreters and other Afghans who were employed by the UK, and those Afghans judged most at risk.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has described the continuing evacuation efforts as “Dunkirk by WhatsApp”, with officials scrambling to contact Afghans who worked with the British military effort to help relocate them and their families.
DOMINIC RAAB SQUIRMS UNDER MPs SCRUTINY WHEN ASKED HOW MANY PEOPLE WE HAVE LEFT BEHIND IN AFGHANISTAN
Dominic Raab is being grilled by the Foreign Affairs select committee made of MPs from all political parties.
He defended the Government's handling of the evacuation and said the "majority" of British citizens, people who worked for us and any other Afghan who be at risk by the Taliban had been evacuated - but did not give a concrete number.
Raab said he did not recall the exact figure but was confident that the Prime Minister was right when he said that most people had been able to get out.
DOMINIC RAAB: WE DID NOT EXPECT KABUL TO FALL UNTIL NEXT YEAR
Dominic Raab said the intelligence assessment was that it was unlikely Kabul would fall this year as he defended Britain's withdrawal from Afghanistan after the Taliban swept across the country much more quickly.
"The central assessment that we were operating to... is that the most likely, the central proposition was that, given the troop withdrawal by the end of August, you would see a steady deterioration from that point, and that it was unlikely Kabul would fall this year," Raab told an emergency session of the foreign affairs select committee.
"That doesn't mean we didn't do contingency planning or game-out or test the other propositions. And just to be clear, that's something that was widely shared - that view - amongst NATO allies."
DOMINIC RAAB SAYS FOREIGN OFFICE WAS PLANNING EVACUATION IN JUNE
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the UK started planning for a possible evacuation of Afghanistan in June.
He told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee: "We started planning in June for the contingency of an evacuation and therefore a full drawdown of the embassy."
He said they had not anticipated how fast the Taliban would advance and how many people who were eligible for rescue until they surged to the airport.
'NO VIABLE' WAY TO STAY IN AFGHANISTAN AFTER THE U.S. LEFT
Dominic Raab has told MPs there was no "viable" way the UK or another powers could have formed a coalition to stay in Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrew.
Being grilled by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, he said the general consensus at foreign minister meetings was that Nato had invaded at a collective in 2001, redefined the mission in 2014 as a collective and should leave as a collective.
COUNCIL LEADER CALLS FOR DEBATE ON TAKING REFUGEES - AS SHE SAYS TWO-THIRDS OF COUNCILS TAKE NONE AT ALL
The leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council has called for a national debate to address why around two-thirds of local authorities have not stepped up to help Afghan refugees.
Conservative Abi Brown, whose authority recently withdrew from the national asylum dispersal scheme, said Stoke-on-Trent and the wider Staffordshire area are planning to welcome and resettle around 25 families from Afghanistan.
But she questioned why around 66% of other councils have not put themselves forward to help those fleeing the Taliban, despite many having lower numbers of asylum seekers than Stoke-on-Trent.
Ms Brown told the PA news agency: "The Government have outlined the Operation Warm Welcome yesterday and Stoke-on-Trent, along with our colleagues in Staffordshire, are one of the one in three councils who have said that we will accept Afghan refugee families under that scheme.
"Our position as a local authority is that we have been part of asylum dispersal for 20 years and we recently withdrew from the scheme.
"An area like Stoke-on-Trent that has been taking asylum seekers for a very long time - one in 250 of our residents are asylum seekers today - can find, albeit a very small amount, space to take a few more.
CROWDS FLEE TO LAND BORDERS TO ESCAPE TALIBAN NOW FLIGHTS HAVE ENDED
Crowds seeking to flee Afghanistan flocked to its borders while long queues formed at banks on Wednesday, as an administrative vacuum after the Taliban’s takeover left foreign donors unsure of how to respond to a looming humanitarian crisis.
The Islamist militia focused on keeping banks, hospitals and government machinery running after the final withdrawal of U.S. forces on Monday brought an end to a massive airlift of Afghans who had helped Western nations during the 20-year war.
With Kabul’s airport inoperable, private efforts to help Afghans fearful of Taliban reprisals focused on arranging safe passage across the land-locked nationâs borders with Iran, Pakistan and central Asian states.
At Torkham, a major border crossing with Pakistan that is east of the Khyber Pass, a Pakistani official said: “A large number of people are waiting on the Afghanistan side for the opening of the gate.”
Thousands of people also crowded at the Islam Qala border post between Afghanistan and Iran, witnesses said.
FOREIGN SECRETARY DOMINIC RAAB SAYS HE IS GOING TO AREA AROUND AFGHANISTAN SOON
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he is leaving to go to the region around Afghanistan after a grilling by MPs.
He told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee: "We're always very careful about signalling travel movements because of the security implications."But I can tell you I'm leaving after this committee to go to the region."
He was then grilled by committee chair Tom Tugendhat about when a Foreign Office minister went to one of Afghanistan's neighbours such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and said he did not know off the top of his head.
PEN FARTHING SAYS ‘HUMAN MISERY’ HE SAW IN KABUL ‘WILL TAKE A LONG TIME TO GET OUT OF HIS HEAD’
The ex marine continued: “I think it’ll take a long time to ever get out of my head having to say goodbye to the two members of staff who drove the truck for me to get me into the airport along roads just lined with people.
“There were thousands and thousands of them in makeshift camps waiting for their turn to try to get into the airport – women, children…”
He added: “And you should have seen the human misery in that hangar – the possessions people had left behind – photographs, hats, children’s toys.
“I was sitting amongst all that when someone tweeted about my foul-mouthed rant [to Defence Minister Ben Wallace’s special advisor Peter Quentin
WHAT TIME DOES DOMINIC RAAB SPEAK AND HOW CAN I WATCH IT?
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is due to appear before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee where he will answer questions about the Government's handling of the evacuation.
The session is due to start at 2pm - so in 10 minutes time.
It is not being held in the House of Commons - Parliament does not technically return until Monday - but he will grilled by a cross-party group of MPs. The committee is chaired by Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat - a former soldier who gave a moving speech during the Afghanistan debate about the sense of betrayal and waste many veterans felt.
It will be broadcast live online and it is likely to carried on the major UK TV networks such as the BBC News channel, BBC Parliament and Sky News.