London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 23, 2025

Whistleblower accuses UK of manipulation to save face during Afghan pull back

Whistleblower accuses UK of manipulation to save face during Afghan pull back

Thousands of emails about Afghans seeking help after the Taliban takeover were marked as read as part of a “public relations” effort to allow the UK government to claim there were no unread messages, a whistleblower has said.

The allegations are part of damning testimony from Raphael Marshall – a desk officer for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) – to MPs published on Tuesday. Marshall, who was part of the response team that monitored these “desperate and urgent” emails – outlined a list of government failures during the chaotic evacuation at the end of August.

Estimating that between 75,000 and 150,000 “at risk” people had made requests for rescue under a special cases scheme, Marshall said that “fewer than 5% of these” [had] “received any assistance” and noted that “it is clear that some of those left behind have since been murdered by the Taliban.”

"Between Wednesday 25 August and Wednesday 1 September, I believe emails were processed by marking them with a flag once read but were not entered into a spreadsheet... I believe the purpose of this system was to allow the prime minister and the then foreign secretary to inform MPs that there were no unread emails."


By August 25, Marshall said there was already a backlog of over 5,000 unread emails, many dating back to earlier in the month. A large number of these were read but not recorded onto a spreadsheet. Staff shortages, unclear selection criteria for evacuation and other failures meant people were “de facto eliminated from the evacuation process.”

Then, following an August 29 media report on the backlog, both the special cases mailbox and the similarly overflowing inbox for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme were locked. Marshall said that this decision was either an “admission that... the FCDO’s method of processing the emails only served a public relations purpose” or a failure to realize that restricting access to the emails “undermined rescue efforts for public relations purposes.”

Meanwhile, all mail senders received a message telling them their request for help had been “logged” but this was “usually false,” Marshall said. This included “hundreds if not thousands” of emails from British MPs. This and other failures, which he said undermined the effectiveness of the system, were compounded by policy delays by then-foreign secretary Dominic Raab – who Marshall suggests “did not fully understand the situation.”

However, Raab later pushed back against the criticism, questioning Marshall’s estimates about the scale of the problem while noting that some of it was “dislocated” from the facts on the ground.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
×