A defiant Dominic Raab says he will not resign after failing to make a crucial call to help fleeing Afghan interpreters while on holiday, despite growing demands for him to quit.
The phone call was delegated to a junior minister, as the Taliban neared Kabul last Friday – as the foreign secretary reportedly declined to intervene personally from his Crete hotel.
Filmed walking into Downing Street, a smiling Mr Raab was asked if he would reign, but told reporters: “No.”
He is already under fierce pressure for failing to return from the Greek island until Monday morning, being seen on the beach the previous day – as the Afghan capital crumbled.
Downing Street has so far refused to comment on the controversy and on whether Boris Johnson retains confidence in his foreign secretary.
Mr Raab has also been caught up in a Cabinet spat with defence secretary Ben Wallace, who accused the Foreign Office of quickly evacuating its diplomats and leaving young soldiers in charge.
Labour said he “should be ashamed” of his actions and questioned why he would not make a phone call if told “it could save somebody’s life”.
Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary, said: “How can Boris Johnson allow the foreign secretary to continue in his role after yet another catastrophic failure of judgment?
“If Dominic Raab doesn’t have the decency to resign, the prime minister must show a shred of leadership and sack him.”
The Liberal Democrats called for Raab to “resign today”, while the Scottish National Party said his position is “completely untenable and he must resign, or be sacked”.
The calls came the Daily Mail reported that, while on holiday in Crete, Mr Raab was urged by his officials to speak with his Afghan counterpart, Hanif Atmar.
Pressure was needed to secure help with the evacuation of translators who had worked with the British military, as the Taliban advanced on Kabul.
But, according to the report, officials were told that Mr Raab was not available and that a junior minister, Zac Goldsmith, should make the call instead.
As Lord Goldsmith was not Atmar’s direct equivalent, there was a delay until Saturday – and possibly Sunday, the day Kabul fell – before the request was made.
The Foreign Office acknowledged that Mr Raab did not make the call, saying: “The foreign secretary was engaged on a range of other calls and this one was delegated to another minister.”
However, Mr Wallace defended his cabinet colleague, arguing that, by Friday, the Afghan government was “melting away quicker than ice”.
“A phone call to an Afghan minister at that moment in time would have not made a difference,” the defence secretary said.
