London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 28, 2026

Inside Dominic Raab's £1000-a-night Crete holiday as Afghanistan collapsed

Inside Dominic Raab's £1000-a-night Crete holiday as Afghanistan collapsed

BUNGLING Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was having a splashing time in his £1,000-a-night holiday suite’s private pool as Afghanistan collapsed in chaos.

Mr Raab, 47, lapped up the luxury of his resort’s exclusive “Amirandes Family Suite” which boasts its own pool and garden in Crete.

A look inside the £1,000-per-night resort in Crete where Dominic Raab stayed while Afghanistan was falling to the Taliban

The bedroom in the luxury holiday resort

The beachside terrace with a pool

And he was unable to tear himself away from the dream hideaway among millionaires and celebrities for three crucial days as the Taliban encircled Kabul.

Raab was facing the axe from “furious” Boris Johnson today amid claims his inaction could have cost the lives of trapped translators facing revenge for helping British forces.

And his cabinet post was hanging by a thread last night as more details of his stay at the sumptuous Amirandes Boutique Resort emerged.

Sources revealed last night that his Brazilian wife Erika Rey booked the ground floor suite in her name.

Their ground-floor apartment boasted 40 square metres of tastefully-furnished living space opening out onto a 70 square metre garden complete with his and hers sunbeds.

The couple baked in glorious 30C sunshine and cooled off in their own plunge pool on their private terrace, a stone’s throw from the manicured beach.

They enjoyed the choice of the palm-fringed resort’s Lago Di Candia and Minotaur restaurants - adorned with genuine Picasso ceramics - and three beachside bars.

The hotel - styled as a “sparkling boutique resort for the privileged and perceptive” - also offers pampering treatments and massages at its Elixir Alchemy Spa.

Mr Raab has claimed he continued to monitor the Kabul crisis while on holiday


Mr Raab’s arrival was so low key that staff had no idea the British minister was the tanned tripper enjoying swimming, sunbathing and paddle tennis until he suddenly checked out.

A source told The Sun: “His arrival was so discreet that few people realised there was a British minister here until he left in a hurry.

“Their suite was beautiful with its own pool and garden but was by no means the most expensive here.

“He seemed to be really enjoying his holiday until he cut short his trip and left last Sunday - it wasn’t until then that people realised he was a VIP.”

'Monitoring crisis'


Father-of-two Mr Raab has claimed he continued to monitor the Kabul crisis while on holiday and insisted he did not spend long periods sunning himself.

But Brits at the hotel yesterday claimed he spent “hours” chilling out on Sunday as the bloodthirsty Islamists began pouring into Kabul, sending Afghans fleeing for their lives.

Fellow guests of the politician included millionaire tycoons and Game of Thrones actor Iain Glen.

Ian, 60, who played dragon queen Daenerys Targaryen’s bodyguard, Ser Jorah Mormont was still relaxing with his family at the resort today.

Raab has been accused of being “asleep at the wheel” when he ignored pleas to phone his Afghan counterpart to help the translators.

He is said to have delegated junior minister Lord Goldsmith to make the important call - but it emerged yesterday that no call was made as events spiralled out of control.

One hotel guest said he saw the top Tory on the beach between 11.30am and 3.30pm local time on Sunday as the Taliban moved into the Afghan capital.

The tripper - who asked not to be named - said he saw Mr Raab swimming, running and washing sand off his legs as Britain’s biggest foreign policy calamity in decades unfolded.

They added: “There was one point when I saw him using his mobile phone.

A view of the luxury villas in the Amirandes Beach Resort where the Foreign Secretary spent his holiday


“It looked like he was checking messages or texts as he was sitting on his lounger. But, I didn’t see him on the telephone talking.”

A Foreign Office source disputed the witness’s account and insisted Mr Raab had spent only limited time on the beach.

It also emerged yesterday that the embattled minister had been on his sun lounger in Crete from August 6 - a week before Kabul’s fall gathered pace.

'Caught off-guard'


Mr Raab has admitted he was “caught off-guard” by the speed of the Taliban advance which he said “’no one saw coming”.

But he insisted he returned to the UK late on Sunday evening “as soon as the situation deteriorated and demanded it”

Mr Raab issued a statement defending his decision not to call Afghan foreign counterpart Hanif Atmara yesterday.

“He said: “On Friday afternoon, August 13 , advice was put to my Private Office recommending a call to the Afghan Foreign Minister.

“This was quickly overtaken by events.

“The call was delegated to a Minister of State because I was prioritising security and capacity at the airport.

“In any event, the Afghan Foreign Minister agreed to take the call, but was unable to because of the rapidly deteriorating situation.”

Taliban fighters stand guard in Kabul after the city fell into chaos

Hundreds of Afghan citizens piled on board a US carrier plane in an attempt to flee the Taliban

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Millions of UK Benefit Recipients Receive Payments Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
UK Prime Minister Meets Northern Ireland Leaders in Belfast Over Budget Crisis
Crypto Tax Gains Reach One Point Three Eight Billion Pounds Among UK Investors, HMRC Data Shows
UK Corporate Confidence Rises to Highest Level Since March, Lloyds Survey Shows
Mike Ashley Attacks UK Government Business Rates and Cost-of-Living Policies
Scottish Universities Face Two Hundred Million Pound Annual Funding Gap, Report Warns
Entertainment Figures Urge UK Government to Protect People From AI Voice Cloning
Manchester Airports Group Confirms Customer Data Breached in Cyberattack
Seven Charged Over Vandalism at Donald Trump’s Turnberry Golf Resort in Scotland
Nearly 23,000 UK Households Expected to Move Home on Busiest Day of 2026
UK Benefit Payments to Arrive Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Reform UK Pledges to Replace GDPR and Cut Tax Administration Red Tape
Andy Burnham Launches Work Experience Plan for One Million Young People Outside Education or Work
Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backlash After Dropping Support for Political Donations Cap
Andy Burnham Announces UK-Wide Summit With Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Met Office Warns of Heavy Rain and Flood Risk Across England and Wales After Summer Heat
Bank of England Warns AI Adoption Could Reduce Demand for Automatable Jobs
UK Confirms National Salmonella Outbreak With More Than 200 Cases
UK Airports Handle Record 81 Million Passengers Despite Middle East Disruption
Ofgem Raises UK Energy Price Cap by Four Percent to £1,723
Cyber Attack Hits Customer Data Systems at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands Airports
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Middlesbrough House Fire Kills Woman and Seven-Year-Old Girl
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Return to UK Amid Renewed Media Attention
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After London Collision
Greenpeace Threatens Legal Action Over Crown Estate Offshore Wind Leasing
Nvidia Revenue Surges to Ninety-Six Point Two Billion Dollars on Artificial Intelligence Demand
Meta Agrees to Global Youth Safety Changes Following Multi-State Legal Settlement
UK Government Plans Autumn Summit With Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders
CMA Caps Veterinary Prescription Fees at Twenty-One Pounds
Thames Water Pilot Records Forever Chemicals at Thirteen Times the Legal Limit
Kent Meningitis Outbreak Reaches Thirty-Four Confirmed Cases
Forty Children Missing From UK Asylum Accommodation Remain Unaccounted For
UK Court Upholds VAT on Private School Fees
US Designates Palestine Action as Foreign Terrorist Organization
UK Approves Massive New Chinese Embassy Complex in London Amid Security Concerns
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv and Offers Cruise Missile Designs to Ukraine
Glacier Collapse, Not Earthquake, Triggered Deadly Nepal-Tibet Flood
Andy Burnham Drops Plan to Cap Political Donations
Conservative Leadership Contest Intensifies as Robert Jenrick Attacks Kemi Badenoch
French-Born Defence Secretary Wes Streeting Condemns Homophobic Abuse Since Taking Office
UK Government Delays Commercial Robotaxi Rollout in London Over Regulatory Gaps
NHS Complaints About Autism and ADHD Care Waiting Times Triple Over Five Years
UK Government Launches 10,000 Work Placements for Young People With Sainsbury's
NHS England to Offer Free At-Home Cervical Cancer Screening Kits
EU Biometric Border Checks Cause Delays of Up to Five Hours for British Travellers
US Imposes Economic Sanctions on UK-Based Protest Group Palestine Action
×