London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

UK has failed to ‘learn lessons from Afghanistan’ over Sudan crisis

UK has failed to ‘learn lessons from Afghanistan’ over Sudan crisis

The UK government has been criticized for not learning lessons from its withdrawal from Afghanistan in its failure to extract British citizens trapped in Sudan.
London sent troops to rescue its diplomatic team from the capital Khartoum amid deadly clashes on Sunday, but Alicia Kearns, chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said 3,000-4,000 UK nationals remain in Sudan, and “well over 1,000” had requested help leaving the country.

Kearns cited poor communication from the government to UK citizens as proof that sufficient progress had not been made following the Afghanistan withdrawal in August 2021.

“We have a moral obligation to tell British nationals as soon as possible that (evacuating the diplomatic staff) is the judgment that has been made, because they then need to make their own decisions,” she told the BBC, adding that nationals who had registered with the Foreign Office had received just two automated messages from UK authorities since fighting broke out last week, with limited advice.

“That would suggest no lessons have been learned from Afghanistan and I have urged the government to make sure they are communicating regularly with British nationals. The reality is that, unlike other countries, we have thousands (of nationals in Sudan) so perhaps sometimes phoning around is terribly difficult,” she added.

“The focus now has to move to getting our British nationals out using the one airstrip available for evacuations.

“We do have Hercules and other aircraft that are capable of landing on land that is not a formal land strip. Some of our Arab partners are using a land convoy and a boat.”

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday on international efforts to secure a ceasefire in Sudan.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned that help available for extracting UK nationals from Sudan remains “extremely limited” despite the successful evacuation of diplomatic staff.

He said the only possibility for improving the situation would be a ceasefire agreement between the Sudanese Armed Forces, under the command of Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

Cleverly added that the mission to rescue embassy staff had been “complex and rapid,” and that “specific threats and violence directed towards diplomats” had prompted the UK to expedite the extraction process.

He said the UK is “absolutely committed to supporting” Britons trapped amid the fighting, but the government is “severely limited” in its ability to provide assistance.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said all three branches of the UK armed forces had been involved in the diplomatic extraction, using a C-130 Hercules and Airbus A400M transport aircraft.

The chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee, Tobias Ellwood, said over 1,000 military personnel had been mobilized for the extraction of UK diplomatic staff, and the government should now move to “phase two” of extracting Britons.

Those still in Sudan criticized the government’s response to the crisis. One businessman in Sudan who gave his name as Sam told the BBC that the situation on the ground is “a nightmare for those of us left behind,” and that while the evacuation of UK diplomats had given many Britons in the country hope, “in the absence of any information from the government this was clearly a solution for diplomats only.”

Another UK citizen, who gave his name as William, told the BBC: “We had to basically go private, we’ve had absolutely nothing but nonsense from the government and not even nonsense. We’ve had nothing.

“The internet’s just gone out, so we’ve been on 3G all day. And we were all running out of data. And so communication was becoming increasingly difficult.”

William said he and others had sourced a bus to flee to Egypt, but described a “dicey situation” in Khartoum with “gunfire going off all the time.”

He added: “We’re making quite slow progress but steady progress. So the idea is we continue going for the next two days, up to the Egyptian border, and then we’re sort of safe.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
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
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
×