Dominic Raab was reportedly advised by No 10 officials to return from his holiday on 13 August as the Afghanistan situation deteriorated — but stayed for a further two days after Boris Johnson’s approval.
The claim comes amid calls for the foreign secretary to resign after failing to make a call to his Afghan counterpart over the evacuation of interpreters while he was overseas on the Greek island of Crete.
A government official told The Sunday Times that Mr Raab was “told to come back” on Friday 13 August — the day the prime minister held a first emergency Cobra meeting on the crisis in Afghanistan.
“On Sunday there was a sense of disbelief among everyone at the most senior levels in No 10 that he wasn’t there,” the official added. “He seems to have nobbled Boris after he was told to come back.”
Allies of the foreign secretary, however, told the newspaper he was to “begin the process of coming home” and it was agreed with the prime minister Mr Raab would return on Sunday — the day the Afghan capital, Kabul, fell to the Taliban insurgents.
In response to the report, the SNP’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, posted on social media: “This makes it impossible for Dominic Raab to stay in office”
The shadow foreign secretary, Lisa Nandy, added: “It’s staggering that the foreign secretary found the time to pick up the phone to lobby the prime minister to extend his own holiday, but refused to call the Afghan government in the hours before Kabul fell to the Taliban.”
“It’s little wonder that the prime minister wasn’t able to order others back to Westminster when he chose to go on holiday himself as the Taliban were advancing in Kabul,” the Labour frontbencher said.
The report came as a poll for the Observer by Opinium found that just 23 per cent approved with the job the foreign secretary is doing — compared to 41 per cent disapproving.
However, speaking on Friday after a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra meeting, Mr Johnson defied calls to sack Mr Raab, insisting he “absolutely” had confidence in the foreign secretary.
The prime minister stressed: “I can tell you that the whole of the government has been working virtually around the clock, hitting the phones to do what we can to sort it out, to deal with the situation that has been long in gestation, and to make sure that we get as many people as back as possible”.
Elsewhere, it also emerged Lord Ahmad, a foreign office minister for South Asia, whose responsibilities include Afghanistan, was on staycation until Sunday — the day the Afghan capital fell to the Taliban.
According to Sky News, the Conservative peer had been in regular contact the former foreign minister in Afghanistan, Haneef Atmar, as talks were underway in Doha, Qatar, with the Taliban.
A foreign office spokesperson, however, insisted Lord Ahmad had been “working closely with the foreign secretary and the FCDO team throughout the response to events in Afghanistan, including engaging with international partners”.
The Independent has contacted No 10 and the Foreign Office for comment.
