Boris Johnson was accused tonight of lying that he was involved in a plan to obtain a plane-load of cats and dogs from Kabul at the expense of Afghan citizens for an animal charity that personally lobbied his wife. used to do. Used to do.
The prime minister has claimed that it was ‘complete nonsense’ that he was personally interfering with efforts to help the Nazwad charity off its flight. Afghanistan as the country fell Taliban,
This came after a volunteer at a charity run by former Royal Marine Paul Farthing that he personally lobbied for Carrie Johnson to help get 170 animals in the air.
But tonight Labor MP Chris Bryant revealed a letter sent to Mr Farthing by Mr Johnson’s political private secretary, in which he said British officials would help 68 workers and animals escape.
“It sounds to me like the prime minister’s directive,” Bryant said today in a letter to the Foreign Affairs Committee to Trudy Harrison’s stunned lawmakers and civil servants.
‘The Prime Minister has his fingers on all this, isn’t it?
Asked by Mr Bryant why the letter was not “similar” to what he was told earlier during Tuesday’s hearing, Foreign Office Permanent-Under Secretary Sir Philip Barton replied: given understanding. determined in good faith.
I am not aware of the message you are talking about. I am very happy to see it. We have not come to mislead you this afternoon.’
It came as the Foreign Office whistleblower, Rafael Marshall, was concerned about efforts to help Paul ‘Penn’ Farthing, a former Royal Marine, when he asked the government to evacuate 170 dogs and cats from Kabul. I was persuaded to help.
Nazwad volunteer Dominic Dyer told LBC Radio today that the charity’About the charter fight lobbied all the ministers as well as the prime minister’s wife, a renowned animal welfare campaigner.
‘Obviously I know Carrie Johnson. I made my concern very clear to him. There is no doubt that he spoke to him (Prime Minister).
‘Carrie Johnson delivered the message not only through me but through the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation.’
The prime minister said it was ‘complete nonsense’ that he was personally involved in efforts to help nazwad charities from Afghanistan as the country fell into the hands of the Taliban.
But tonight Labor MP Chris Bryant revealed a letter sent to Mr Farthing by Mr Johnson’s political private secretary, in which he said British officials would help 68 workers and animals escape.
Najwad volunteer Dominic Dyer told LBC radio today that the charity “lobbied all ministers” about the charter fight, as well as the PM’s wife, a noted animal welfare campaigner.
Penn and Hannah Farthing with former Afghan fighting dogs Naujad and Tali Naujad dogs, who rescue stray and abandoned animals from Afghanistan
British forces evacuated 15,000 people from Kabuli
Former Royal Marine Paul ‘Penn’ Farthing persuades government to help evacuate 170 dogs and cats from Kabul
Rafael Marshall (pictured), a junior civil servant, has claimed that he was the only person to deal with thousands of emails from people desperate to flee the Taliban multiple times.
Downing Street said today that the claim was ‘untrue’ and Mr Johnson later told broadcasters: ‘This is complete nonsense.
‘But what I can tell you is that I think Operation Pitting, the way we did over the summer to airlift 15,000 people from Kabul, was one of the outstanding military achievements of the last 50 years.’
Sir Laurie Bristow, who was on the field as ambassador to Afghanistan during the return, told lawmakers today that no Afghan who could not be saved was released as a result of the animal airlift.
Mr Marshall told lawmakers he agreed with the military that it was wrong to prioritize Mr Farthing’s charity when translators were being left to their fate.
In his statement, the former Foreign Office civil servant says: ‘There was no reason to believe that the Taliban would target animal rights charities. Therefore, there was no justification to conclude that Naujad’s employees were at significant risk.
Conversely, many others would inevitably be left behind who were at risk of murder. Similarly the protection of domestic animals was not the objective of Britain’s war in Afghanistan.’
Mr Marshall says: ‘There was a direct trade-off between carrying Naujad’s animals and evacuating British civilians and Afghans, including Afghans who had served with British troops.
This is because soldiers would have been tasked with carrying dogs through the crowd and into the airport, otherwise they would be deployed to support the evacuation of priority British civilians or Afghans for evacuation.
‘The limited number of British troops was a significant limiting factor on our ability to evacuate people available to help us through the airport from the hordes of UK visa holders and British nationals.’
He says: ‘I wish Nowazed’s staff the best of luck on their new life in the UK, but they were not eligible for evacuation, the extraordinary assistance they were given on British Army interpreters.
‘I believe British soldiers were put at risk to bring Naujad’s animals to the airport.’
Mr Farthing tweeted this morning: ‘Let’s keep this bloody crystal clear and on record. Not a single British soldier was used to bring me or Naujad’s dogs and cats to Kabul airport… Naujad supporters paid for the cargo flight, not the useless British government.’
Mr Farthing, pictured with Naujad in 2013. The fighting dog inspired the name of his animal charity that was caring for cats and dogs in Afghanistan.
Afghans struggle to reach foreign forces to show their credentials for fleeing the country outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan in August
Mr Marshall further added that a US animal charity in Kabul is still ongoing and has not been the victim of any abuse by the Taliban.
“This reaffirms the belief of the Ministry of Defense and the FCDO that neither Nowzad’s animals nor its personnel were threatened by the Taliban,” he writes.
‘Her Majesty’s Government carried animals that were not in danger of harm at the direct expense of evacuating those at risk of imminent murder, including British citizens and interpreters.’
Downing Street said today that approving a charter flight to rescue animals from Afghanistan “doesn’t detract in any way” from the government’s commitment to evacuating people from the country.
The PM’s spokesperson told reporters: ‘He left his charter flight at the end of the evacuation window because we were prioritizing people over animals.’
Asked whether approving animals for charter flight would make them a priority over people, the spokesperson said: ‘We believe we have always given priority to people over animals. We kept taking people out till the last minute.
“It is only because of the commitment of military and Foreign Office staff that we have made this happen. The approach we took with respect to that charter flight did not detract from that commitment in any way.