Last friday, the afghan government was melting away quicker than ice and a phone call to an afghan minister at that moment in time would not have made a difference. what we were absolutely worried about and determined. were unsure about was whether the airport would remain open. that was at the front of everyone s minds. without a functioning airport, we were going to get nobody out, no matter how many phone calls you made, do a disappearing government. in a packed commons record for an emergency city yesterday, the government was accused of complacency. this phone call adds to the general impression in westminster that perhaps dominic raab has not entirely been on top of events in afghanistan. publicly, largely his colleagues have been supported but some conservatives have been grumbling about the foreign secretary s adding up the crisis. after what has been described as the biggest foreign policy failure in modern times, it is perhaps unsurprising that the
Days as the taliban took control. we have heard some criticisms from leading republicans, like mitch mcconnell, saying perhaps americans need to provide air support and could have done in those dying days of the afghan government, conceivably to hold off the taliban may be until the winter, when it would be much harderfor them to achieve this military success. is that going to have any impact on the president, will it affect public opinion in any measurable way? there is a wide range opinion in any measurable way? there is a wide range of opinion in any measurable way? there is a wide range of criticism opinion in any measurable way? there is a wide range of criticism in - is a wide range of criticism in washington and around the country about how the last few weeks unfolded. there was initial criticism of the president s decision to withdraw troops and a lot of criticism about how it all went down with those chaotic scenes. we have seen from the airport in kabul, people trying to
This is bbc news, i m shaun ley. the headlines: desperate scenes at kabul airport a little girl is handed over to an american solider by people fleeing the taliban. britian pledges to remain, as long as the us controls the airport. none of our planes are leaving empty. i have seen reports, i cannot vouch for other nations, but our planes never leave empty. if we have spaces on them, we offer them up to other nations. british troops are helping control the crowds and check people s documents. labour accuses the foreign secretary of putting interpreters lives at risk after he declined to make a phone call to get help evacuating them from afghanistan. the government has defended him. the widow of one us soldier killed
Between around 11 and 1a celsius. tomorrow, something of a change for northern ireland, here quite quickly we will see outbreaks of rain moving. some of the rain could turn out quite heavy and eventually, we will start to see some of rain working its way into western parts of great britain as well. further north and eastwards, at least for a time, you ve got a better prospect of seeing sunshine. temperatures again into the high teens and low 20s. that s your weather. the headlines: desperate scenes at kabul airport a little girl is handed over to an american solider by people fleeing the taliban. britian pledges to remain as long as the us controls the airport. none of our planes are leaving empty. i ve seen reports saying that. i can t vouch for other nations, but our aeroplanes never leave empty. if we have spaces on them, we offer them up to other nations. british troops are helping control the crowds and check people s documents. labour accuses the foreign secretary of putting in
Crisis that is now unfolding. over the last few days we have seen terrible images of human suffering, but also itjust reminds us of the human experiences of fleeing war and conflict. from people clinging onto the aeroplane, two people trying to get to the airport, there are many many signs of desperation. i think the international community, particularly the uk has got an important role to play. notjust with numbers, but i think we need to have a moral response to the crisis. we need to do a lot more to help and support communities. we are notjust talking about afghan citizens, even talking about afghan citizens, even talking about afghan citizens, even talking about british afghans who are stuck there with their family members. since this morning, my phone hasn t stopped ringing because people want to get closer to the airport and get their families to