London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

MPs on all sides accuse Boris Johnson of Afghanistan failures

MPs on all sides accuse Boris Johnson of Afghanistan failures

Boris Johnson has faced a barrage of criticism from MPs over the UK's role in Afghanistan, in an emergency House of Commons debate on the crisis.

His predecessor as PM Theresa May said it was "incomprehensible" the UK was not doing more to maintain a presence, while ex-minister Johnny Mercer demanded more help for veterans.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Mr Johnson of "staggering complacency".

But Mr Johnson argued Nato's "core mission" in Afghanistan had succeeded.

Addressing a packed Commons, he said the country had been largely cleared of al-Qaeda terrorists, while the population had enjoyed better education, women's rights and free elections since the 2001 invasion.

But Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee and himself served in Afghanistan, said it had been "shameful" of US President Joe Biden to question the willingness of the Afghan army to fight the Taliban.

And, in an emotional speech that was heard in silence, he told of grief and rage felt by veterans at the "abandonment" of Afghanistan.

UK troops ceased combat operations in 2014 and most of those who remained, primarily to help train the Afghan army, left last month.

The government has agreed to resettle up to 20,000 Afghan refugees displaced by the return of the Taliban over the next few years.

Efforts are also continuing to evacuate UK nationals from Kabul airport, but Downing Street did not deny a report that one plane had taken off "almost empty".

Parliament was recalled from its summer break for the seven-and-half-hour debate on the situation in Afghanistan.

Mrs May called Nato's withdrawal "a major setback for British foreign policy".

She said it was "incomprehensible and worrying" that the UK government had not been able to put together an "alternative alliance of countries" to continue to support the Afghan government in the absence of US forces.

Another Conservative MP and former soldier, defence committee chairman Tobias Ellwood, argued the UK "should never have left" Afghanistan.

"What we require is the backbone, the courage, the leadership to step forward, yet when our moment comes such as this we are found wanting," he said.

Mr Mercer, who served in Afghanistan and who quit as veterans' minister earlier this year, accused Mr Johnson of "consistently failing" to support ex-soldiers.


This was the first full in-person session in the House of Commons for over a year and Boris Johnson felt the full force of it.

He had to battle through parts of his opening statement on the crisis in Afghanistan, in a noisy chamber, as MPs from all sides vied to intervene.

It was a striking contrast to the often flat proceedings that have been a hallmark of the part-virtual Parliament over the past year.

Now, lined up on the front bench, Mr Johnson and his ministers not only had to hear the searing criticisms from colleagues but look them in the eye as well, whether in the chamber or in backrooms, corridors and passages.

Some 457 UK personnel have died and more than 2,000 have been wounded in Afghanistan since the invasion, prompted by the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US by al-Qaeda.

Mr Johnson said that "in spite of all the difficulties and challenges we knew we would face... we succeeded in that core mission" of removing the terror group's operatives from Afghanistan.

"It would be fair to say [recent] events in Afghanistan have unfolded and the collapse [of the Afghan government] has been faster than even the Taliban themselves predicated," he said.

"What is not true is to say the UK government was unprepared or did not foresee this."

Mr Johnson said the Taliban, who have promised to observe human rights, must be judged on "actions rather than words".

"At this bleak turning point we must help the people of Afghanistan determine the best of all possible futures," he added.

But opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the prime minister of "staggering complacency" and "appalling" judgement by failing to plan properly for the withdrawal of troops over the past 18 months.

He called the government's refugee repatriation target too small and claimed the 20,000 figure had been "plucked out of the air".

To jeers from Conservative MPs, he said: "The prime minister's response to the Taliban arriving at the gates of Kabul was to go on holiday."

Mr Johnson received little backbench support during the debate, but Conservative Alicia Kearns said the government had "called for Nato allies to help us build a new coalition in Afghanistan to prevent the Taliban recapturing it, and we were let down".

Fellow Tory Caroline Nokes praised the prime minister for putting in place a scheme to "ensure that we can prioritise women and girls" in Afghanistan "and bring them to safety".

But SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford argued that the future of Afghanistan had "never been so uncertain" and that refugees needed more help.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey branded the prime minister a "national liability" who could not "escape culpability for this disaster".


PM Boris Johnson says British troops should be "proud of their achievements" in Afghanistan

Recap: Former soldiers were among the MPs who spoke in the debate

Sir Keir Starmer: "We face new threats to our security and an appalling humanitarian crisis"

Theresa May: “The politicians decided to withdraw, the politicians must be responsible for the consequences”


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×