Markus Andrews

Parliament has been recalled for one day on Wednesday, amid growing criticism of the failure of western governments to halt the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.MPs have been brought back from their summer holidays to debate the crisis, with Boris Johnson also leading an emergency Cobra meeting on Sunday afternoon following the dramatic events in Kabul.Dominic Raab, the under-fire foreign secretary, is believed to be returning from a holiday, as the crisis deepens.He tweeted he had “shared my deep concerns” with the Afghan foreign minister, adding: “Critical that the international community is united in telling the Taliban that the violence must end and human rights must be protected.”Labour had demanded a recall, while the Liberal Democrats are calling on the prime minister to host a “Westminster leaders crisis meeting” on the Afghanistan situation.Senior Conservatives are turning on the prime minister over his inaction, after he insisted the UK is hamstrung following the US pullout from Kabul.Tom Tugendhat, the chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, attacked “the biggest single policy disaster since Suez” – and questioned the invisibility of Mr Raab.“I don’t know what is in the works because we haven’t heard from the foreign secretary in about a week despite this being the biggest single policy disaster since Suez,” he said.Johnny Mercer, the former defence minister, said: “I never thought I’d see the day, either as a serviceman or as a member of the Conservative Party, where we would essentially surrender to the Taliban and leave these people to their fate – but that day has come.”A No 10 source said Mr Johnson was seeking a recall of parliament to discuss the crisis, with Wednesday quickly confirmed as the date by Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker.Earlier, Keir Starmer said the crisis is “deeply shocking and seems to be worsening by the hour”.“The government has been silent while Afghanistan collapses, which let’s be clear will have ramifications for us here in the UK,” the Labour leader said.“We need Parliament recalled so the government can update MPs on how it plans to work with allies to avoid a humanitarian crisis and a return to the days of Afghanistan being a base for extremists whose purpose will be to threaten our interests, values and national security.”Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, “We must not conclude that this rapid collapse was inevitable. It was not. Today, our leaders should all hang their heads in shame.”The Taliban entered Kabul from all sides, amid expectations that the Afghan president Ashraf Ghani will give up power to allow an interim government – led by the Taliban – to be formed.Mr Tugendhat added: “The real danger is that we are going to see every female MP murdered, we are going to see ministers strung up on street lamps.”Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative chair of the Commons defence committee, condemned the western retreat as “completely humiliating” and predicted a “humanitarian disaster”.But he went further, amid fears that allowing Afghanistan to disintegrate into a failed state will pave the way for the return of al-Qaeda, which carried out the devastating 2001 attack on New York.“I would not be surprised if we see another attack on the scale of 9/11, almost to bookend what happened 20 years ago, as a poke in the face to the Western Alliance to show how fruitless our efforts have been over the last two decades,” Mr Ellwood said. More

Afghan students promised scholarships at UK universities have had their places withdrawn, in a decision condemned by two former Conservative cabinet ministers.The Foreign Office says the crisis in the country means the British Embassy is no longer able to process visas for the Chevening Scholarships programme.Rory Stewart, the former international development secretary, called the decision “deeply disappointing”, while David Lidington, the former de-facto deputy prime minister, branded it “morally wrong”.Mr Lidington called on Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, to intervene, warning the students would be “at particular risk from the Taliban”.The decision comes as the Afghan capital Kabul is on edge, with the Taliban closing in, having captured the last major city in the north when Jalalabad fell without a struggle.The US has begun evacuating staff from its embassy, and the UK government is reported to be about to withdraw its ambassador, ending its diplomatic presence.A letter offers the scholars a deferral of their places until the autumn of 2022, insisting the Foreign Office is committed to “reinstating the programme as soon as possible”.It reads: “Current circumstances mean that the British Embassy in Kabul is unable to administer the parts of the programme that must be done in Kabul in time for candidates to begin their courses this year.”However, critics pointed out it was impossible to predict the situation in Afghanistan in one year’s time – and questioned why the paperwork could be completed in the UK.The controversy comes as Afghans who worked for the British Council, or on British government projects, are in hiding and fearing for their lives, as those with Western links are targeted.They say they have been excluded from the fast-track resettlement scheme for people who supported the UK mission in Afghanistan.The government says there is no cap, and that it is open to Afghans who worked for the military or the embassy, but critics say the UK is lagging behind the US.Mr Raab did agree earlier this month to include Afghans who worked for UK media outlets in the country, after fierce pressure.One student on the prestigious Chevening programme told the BBC there are 35 Afghans affected and just under half are women. More

Nicola Sturgeon has said Scotland is ready to do all it can to help refugees fleeing Afghanistan amid the Taliban’s rapid offensive in the country.The insurgent group has taken control of all major cities and replaced Afghan security forces in wide swathes of the country in just over a week, entering the capital Kabul on Sunday. Scotland’s first minister said her government would support those fleeing the “horrifying situation currently unfolding” in the country.She shared a tweet showing a plane of Afghan refugees arriving in Canada, which mentioned the country’s pledge to resettle 20,000 people threatened by the Taliban and forced to leave Afghanistan. “I hope UK government does similar and offers as much refuge for vulnerable Afghans as possible,” Ms Sturgeon tweeted.She said the Scottish government was “willing to play our full part and do all we can to help those in peril as a result of the horrifying situation currently unfolding”, in the same way it did with refugees from Syria. The Taliban started entering Kabul on Sunday, when the Afghan capital was the only major city not under the militant group’s control. At the weekend, the insurgents captured Mazar-e-Sharif, a large and heavily-defended city that was the Afghan government’s last northern stronghold, and the eastern city of Jalalabad. The group also seized the nearby Torkham border post with Pakistan at the weekend, leaving Kabul airport the only way out of Afghanistan still in government hands.The militant group’s rapid takeover of key parts of Afghanistan comes nearly two decades after it was forced out of power as the US invaded the country.The UK parliament has been recalled on Wednesday to debate the crisis unfolding in Afghanistan. More

A terrorist attack “on the scale of 9/11” is highly likely unless Boris Johnson intervenes to help halt the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, a senior Conservative claims.Tobias Ellwood, the chair of the Commons defence committee, condemned the Western retreat as “completely humiliating” and predicted a “humanitarian disaster”.But he went further, amid fears that allowing Afghanistan to disintegrate into a failed state will pave the way for the return of Al-Qaeda, which carried out the devastating 2001 attack on New York.“Don’t forget that we will see further terrorist attacks,” Mr Ellwood told Times Radio, but speaking before the Taliban entered Kabul from all sides.“I would not be surprised if we see another attack on the scale of 9/11, almost to bookend what happened 20 years ago, as a poke in the face to the Western Alliance to show how fruitless our efforts have been over the last two decades.”Mr Johnson has insisted UK troops will not return to the country, after attempting, but failing, to construct an alliance to continue operations even after the US pullout.But Mr Ellwood said: “I plead with the prime minister to think again. We have an ever-shrinking window of opportunity to recognise where this country is going as a failed state.“We can turn this around but it requires political will and courage. This is our moment to step forward.”The government should deploy the Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier strike group to the region, to provide air support, Mr Ellwood said.“We could prevent this, otherwise history will judge us very, very harshly in not steeping in when we could do and allowing the state to fail.”On Friday, the defence secretary Ben Wallace revealed his fears, saying: “I am absolutely worried. Failed states are breeding grounds for those type of people – Al-Qaeda will probably come back.”The Tory chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee called the collapse of Afghanistan “the biggest single policy disaster since Suez” – and questioned the invisibility of Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary.Afghans who helped the British now faced reprisals if they fell into the hands of the Taliban, he warned, Tom Tugendhat told the BBC, saying: “This isn’t just about interpreters or guards.“This is the people who, on our encouragement, set up schools for girls. These people are all at risk now.“The real danger is that we are going to see every female MP murdered, we are going to see ministers strung up on street lamps.”Mr Tugendhat attacked a policy void, saying: “I don’t know what is in the works because we haven’t heard from the foreign secretary in about a week despite this being the biggest single policy disaster since Suez.” More

Left-wing Labour voices including former leader Jeremy Corbyn have criticised an apparent move by the party to expel veteran filmmaker Ken Loach.Mr Loach, a life-long socialist, said he had been ejected after he refused to “disown” other critics from the Labour left who had already been removed, accusing Sir Keir Starmer “and his clique” of a “witch-hunt”.Reacting to his expulsion, Mr Corbyn said the 85-year-old “deserves our respect and solidarity” and used the hashtag “StandWithKenLoach”.“Ken Loach has made outstanding films from Cathy Come Home to I Daniel Blake, directed brilliant broadcasts for Labour, and has always stood with the oppressed,” the Islington North MP said.Ken Loach backs Labour leader Corbyn’s ‘big ideas’Richard Burgon, who served in Mr Corbyn’s shadow cabinet, described the apparent expulsion as “outrageous”.He said: “Ken’s films expose the deep injustices that scar our society and have inspired so many people to seek to build a better society. “Those are the values of socialism that should be at the heart of our Party.”Claudia Webbe, MP for Leicester East, wrote: “How is Ken Loach more dangerous than Boris Johnson and the Tories? #StandWithKenLoach.”Jon Trickett MP tweeted: “What kind of people would remove someone of Ken Loach’s immense calibre from the Labour Party?”Labour’s Zarah Sultana said it was “shameful” that Mr Loach, “a renowned filmmaker whose art gives voice to the impoverished and oppressed”, had been removed. And left-wing professor Yanis Varoufakis suggested Mr Starmer had “proven his determination to purge Labour of its anti-fascist, anti-racist soul”. In an earlier tweet, the former Greek finance minister claimed that in removing Mr Loach, officials were “leaving behind an arid, soulless Labour Party”.Mr Loach’s expulsion comes after the party last month expelled four associated groups on the grounds that they were “not compatible” with Labour values.They included groups which had been critical of Sir Keir’s efforts to tackle antisemitism within the party’s ranks.Mr Loach, who has long expressed his socialist ideals through films such as I, Daniel Blake and Sorry We Missed You, has previously attracted criticism for referring to charges of antisemitism within Labour as “exaggerated or false”. I, Daniel Blake – Official TrailerOthers publicly backed his removal on Saturday, including Labour MP Neil Coyle, who wrote: “Goodbye Ken Loach. You were against Labour in government and fielded people against us even 5 years after we left office, helping the Tories, but still mindless cretins pretend you were Labour … Good riddance.”Labour has not confirmed Mr Loach’s expulsion, with a spokesperson saying they do not “comment on individual cases”. More

All 16- and 17-year-olds in England will be offered their first Covid vaccination in the next eight days, as health chiefs race to deliver protection before schools return.Walk-in centres are now open across the country and an online site has been launched to help young people find the most convenient site for them.Many teenagers will be sent texts or letters to urge them to book their appointments in time to allow a two-week gap for immunity to build up, before they restart lessons in September.“I have asked the NHS in England to ensure they offer a first dose of the vaccine to everyone aged 16 and 17 by next Monday 23 August,” said Sajid Javid, the health secretary.“This will make sure everybody has the opportunity to get vital protection before returning to college or sixth form.“Please don’t delay – get your jabs as soon as you can so we can continue to safely live with this virus and enjoy our freedoms by giving yourself, your family and your community the protection they need.”Around 1.4 million 16- and 17-year-olds across the UK are eligible to receive a first jab, after the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI) shifted its advice this month.They will receive a Pfizer dose – amid concerns about the slightly higher risk of blood clots in the young from the AstraZeneca version – and do not need their parents’ consent.No decisions have yet been taken about second jabs for 16- and 17-year-olds, as more data is collected on possible heart inflammation.Clinically vulnerable 12- to 15-year-olds, who face an increased risk from Covid-19, are also advised to be vaccinated, but the JCVI came out against a programme for all under-18s.The government has joined forces with dating apps, social media platforms and firms including Uber and Deliveroo to incentivise for young people to get the vaccine.Teenagers within three months of their 18th birthday, as well as all adults, can book an appointment on the NHS website.There are hopes of declining vaccine hesitancy among adults, with seven in ten 18- to 29-year-olds now having had their first dose.Data last week suggested more than 84,000 lives have been saved by the vaccine programme, since the first jab was delivered to the then 90-year-old Margaret Keenan last December.It is calculated to have stopped about 23 million infections – preventing the pandemic exploding again after lockdown rules in England were scrapped last month.Two doses of the Pfizer vaccine are 96 per cent effective at preventing hospitalisation, while the AstraZeneca jab is 92 per cent effective, research shows.However, cases remain much higher in the UK than elsewhere in Europe, with 29,520 new infections – and 93 further Covid-related deaths – recorded on Saturday. More

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to the governor general’s residence Sunday and is expected to dissolve Parliament and trigger an early election as he seeks to capitalize on Canada being one of the most fully vaccinated countries in the world. Trudeau’s itinerary’s shows he will visit the governor general, who holds a mostly ceremonial position representing Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, on Sunday morning. Trudeau will announce the election for Sept. 20, an official familiar with the plans told The Associated Press. Trudeau is seeking to win a majority of seats in Parliament. His Liberal party fell just short of that two years ago and must rely on the opposition to pass legislation.The election comes as Canada is in the midst of a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases, driven by the delta variant of the coronavirus. Trudeau is less personally popular than he once was but his government’s handling of the pandemic has been widely viewed as a success. After a slow start Canada now has enough vaccine for every citizen and his government spent hundreds of billions to prop up the economy amid lockdowns. Trudeau, the son of the late Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, became the second youngest prime minister in Canadian history when he was first elected with a majority of seats in Parliament in 2015. The Liberal’s victory ended almost 10 years of Conservative Party government in Canada, but scandals combined with high expectations have damaged Trudeau’s standing.His father served as prime minister from 1968 to 1984 with a short interruption and is one of Canada’s best know politicians in other countries. More

‘Red Wall‘ and other poorer areas of England will lose up to £1bn of development cash this year because of Brexit, despite Boris Johnson’s vow to “level up” the country.The government promised to match the grants – to build local economies by attracting businesses and jobs – when the UK left the EU, but has yet to set up a promised replacement fund.Instead, just £220m is being made available across the whole of the UK for 2021-22, and no money has yet been handed out at all – even though the financial year is nearly halfway over.Areas of the North and Midlands, many of which switched to the Tories at the 2019 election after the prime minister’s “levelling up” pledge, received £500m a year from EU Structural Funds, new analysis shows.Now they will receive only a slice of the stopgap £220m Community Renewal Fund – amid further anger that councils had to put in bids, rather than be allocated cash according to need.Some areas in the South have been made new “priority areas”, despite criticism that other funding pots have been skewed to Tory constituencies, including those of Cabinet ministers.In total, English regions were awarded £1.12bn from the EU in 2018, the latest available figures – suggesting a loss of up to £1bn this year, depending on allocations from the stopgap fund.The biggest likely losers are the Midlands (£190m in 2018), Yorkshire (£143m), Cornwall (£95m), the north west (£88m) and the north east (£80m), according to the figures obtained by Labour.Wales will be even harder hit – having been in line to receive £373m a year in the EU – while Scotland received £125m a year.Labour said the revelation “makes a mockery” of the pledge to tackle the gulf between rich and poor areas, while one northern business group said it suggested “levelling up will mean nothing”.Some so-called ‘Red Wall’ areas are suffering potentially bigger losses than the figures suggest, because the Tees Valley, Durham and South Yorkshire were tipped to move into a higher funding bracket, but for Brexit.The losses follow fierce criticism of Mr Johnson’s major speech on levelling up last month, which he himself admitted lacked worked-up policy measures.James Ramsbotham, chief executive of North East England Chamber of Commerce, said the promised Shared Prosperity Fund – to replace EU money – was crucial to turning around economic deprivation.“Despite being first proposed in 2017, we still have little indication of what it will do or how it will work,” he protested.“Levelling up will mean nothing unless government acts quickly to replace Structural Funds in a fair and transparent way.”Steve Reed MP, Labour’s shadow communities secretary, said: “This research makes a mockery of the Conservatives’ pledge to to fix the gigantic regional inequalities they have created.“Not only is the government failing to fulfil its promise to match what these regions have lost, it is making them bid against each other for what little funding there is, prioritising rich areas over poorer ones.”And the Welsh government’s economy minister, Vaughan Gething, attacked the situation as “chaotic”, undermining its worked-up development plan.“Wales is now being denied jobs and investment at the worst possible time. You simply cannot do this work on the hoof and no responsible government would attempt to,” he said.During the years of austerity after 2010, poorer regions of England lost almost all economic development funding from Whitehall – prompting fears that EU money would also go after Brexit.The Brussels grant stream – £1.73bn across the UK in 2018 – funded scientific research centres and business parks, among many other schemes, levering in private finance to boost the public spending.In response, the government promised the UK-wide Shared Prosperity Fund to replace it, but it has been dogged by delays and uncertainty over how it will operate.It is due to start next April, but bids have not yet been sought – and there are doubts over whether all funding will be replaced, with the government committed to spending an annual “average” of £1.5bn.With ministers and officials Whitehall making the decisions on allocations, there are also fears of a power-grab that will undermine the Union.In the interim, £11m of the £220m Community Renewal Fund will go to Northern Ireland and £14m will be shared by 100 “priority places” this year – leaving less than £200m to be distributed.The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government declined to comment on why the Shared Prosperity Fund will not start until next year, and did not address any criticism of the bidding process.A spokesperson said: “Funding will ramp up so that total domestic UK-wide funding will at least match EU receipts, reaching around £1.5 billion a year.” More