London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 02, 2026

Taliban vows to protect portraits of Queen Elizabeth II in UK’s Kabul embassy after chaotic exit – reports

Taliban vows to protect portraits of Queen Elizabeth II in UK’s Kabul embassy after chaotic exit – reports

A Taliban patrol reportedly vowed to protect portraits of Queen Elizabeth II in the UK’s embassy in Kabul from looters after diplomatic officials left the country in a haste last week before the group captured the city.

In a Thursday article, The Times war correspondent Anthony Lloyd wrote about his recent experience accompanying a Taliban patrol “through Kabul’s abandoned diplomatic quarter in search of a portrait of the Queen,” following the US and UK’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

According to Lloyd, many items were left in the embassy, highlighting the rush of the evacuation, including bulletproof vests, books, dinner table placards – and even sensitive documents which could be used by the Taliban to identify Afghan collaborators with the UK.

One particular detail, however, caught the attention of social media; Lloyd reported that the Taliban had vowed “to protect the embassy and any portrait of the Queen they found from looters.”

Patriotic Brits on Twitter thanked the Taliban for protecting Her Majesty’s image, with one user writing, “Cheers boys, Allah save the Queen.”




Others pointed out the irony of the Taliban protecting portraits of the Queen when a group of students at one of the UK’s most prestigious universities, Oxford University, voted in favor of removing the Queen’s portrait from their common room in June. The move was led by a wealthy American student who claimed that the Queen’s image represented “recent colonial history.”



Though many Brits and their Afghan allies have been successfully evacuated from Kabul, others are still stuck in the city, including former marine and animal activist Pen Farthing. Farthing was set to be evacuated on a private flight, Friday, along with his many rescue animals, however the evacuation attempt was cancelled after several explosions at Kabul airport killed at least 90 people and injured 150 more.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced on Friday that the military’s official evacuation process would come to an end within a “matter of hours.” The full evacuation process is set to be complete by August 31, with the Taliban saying no extensions would be granted beyond that.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
Sainsbury Agrees to Sell Argos in £120 Million Deal to Private Consortium
High Court Clears Way for Construction of Chinese Embassy at Royal Mint Court
UK Fuel Prices Climb to Multi-Month Highs as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Disrupt Oil Supplies
Severe Summer Drought and Record Heat Put UK Harvests at Risk
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backbench Opposition Over Potential Support for New North Sea Oil and Gas Drilling
Bank of England Warns Inflation Will Stay Above 3% as Middle East Energy Shock Prolongs Cost-of-Living Pressures
Andy Burnham has Announces Plans to Redistribute Income Tax Revenue to English Mayors
Early-Release Scheme Faces Fresh Scrutiny as Reoffending and Prison Recalls Rise
Police Phone Checks Followed Report on Murder of MI5 Agent Inside Sinn Féin
Archbishop of Canterbury Reaffirms £100 Million Reparative Justice Fund During Ghana Visit
Charities Allege French Police Used Tear Gas Against Channel Migrants
Norwegian Teenager Convicted Over Iran-Linked Murder Plot in Britain
Christian Organisations File Charity Complaints Against Amnesty International UK
Ofgem Tightens Grid Connection Rules for New Data Centres
FTSE 100 Reaches Record High Despite Global Technology Sell-Off
Millions of UK Households Urged to Check Eligibility for Winter Energy Discount
Labour Restores Parliamentary Whips to Diane Abbott and Joani Reid
UK Supreme Court to Hear Challenge Over Palestine Action Ban
UK Commits More Than £8.4 Billion to Dreadnought Nuclear Submarine Programme
England Declares Severe Drought as Wildfire Burns Near Sizewell Nuclear Site
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Tensions Fuel Inflation Risks
Drought Status Extended Across All of Wales as Heat and Dry Weather Deepen Environmental Strain
Record-Low Danube Exposes Probable Mammoth Remains in Bulgaria
UK Business Confidence Climbs to Four-Month High
Greater Manchester Gains Expanded Powers Under Regional Funding Reforms
UK Supreme Court to Hear Appeal Over Palestine Action Terror Ban
Shell's Quarterly Profit Doubles to Nearly $10 Billion on Higher Energy Prices
UK Government Removes VAT From Household Electricity Bills
Exceptional Drought Grips Half of England as Wildfire Threatens Sizewell
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Inflation Risks Persist
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
The chief executive of the popular gaming company laid off many employees and his pay rose to 38 million dollars
UK Employment Holds Steady as Wage Growth Remains Moderate
England to Introduce Artificial Intelligence into Secondary School Curriculum
Wales Launches £1.2 Billion Industrial Regeneration Programme
High Court Upholds UK Digital Surveillance Framework
Northern Ireland Reaches Budget Agreement on Infrastructure and Public Sector Pay
Home Office Expands Digital Border Checks Nationwide
UK Approves Major North Sea Wind and Carbon Capture Project
The World's Most Terrifying Smartphone: Recording, Documenting, and Reporting to the Regime
Scotland Approves Major Renewable Energy Expansion
UK and United States Sign AI and Semiconductor Cooperation Pact
UK Treasury Tightens Fiscal Controls After Gilt Market Volatility
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 4.5%
UK Unveils £10 Billion NHS Funding Overhaul and Workforce Reform
The AI User Nightmare: Private Claude Conversations Leaked to the Internet
UK: Former Football Association Leaders Call for World Cup Boycott Over FIFA Privatization Plan
Forbidden Love: China severs millions from their virtual partners
×