My Lords, just so there is no confusion, the Lord Privy Seal has not repeated the Statement; we have to rely on having heard the Prime Minister say it. I am a little disappointed that the Statement is being considered at the end of business today, given the importance of...

My Lords, just so there is no confusion, the Lord Privy Seal has not repeated the Statement; we have to rely on having heard the Prime Minister say it. I am a little disappointed that the Statement is being considered at the end of business today, given the importance of...

Lords statement on the situation in Afghanistan.

Lords statement on the situation in Afghanistan.

My Lords, sometimes very unexpected conversations occur. On my journey down from the north-east this morning, I found myself spending two hours talking with someone who had done seven tours of service in Afghanistan and nearly 10 years’ service in security. It is painful to talk to someone who is...

My Lords, sometimes very unexpected conversations occur. On my journey down from the north-east this morning, I found myself spending two hours talking with someone who had done seven tours of service in Afghanistan and nearly 10 years’ service in security. It is painful to talk to someone who is...

My Lords, I echo the Prime Minister’s commendation of the courage and ingenuity of everybody involved in the Kabul airlift. It was indeed the most impressive achievement.

This is a remarkably thin Statement. It does not contain any new facts or commitments to the people of Afghanistan, either in the UK...

My Lords, I echo the Prime Minister’s commendation of the courage and ingenuity of everybody involved in the Kabul airlift. It was indeed the most impressive achievement.

This is a remarkably thin Statement. It does not contain any new facts or commitments to the people of Afghanistan, either in the UK...

I thank the noble Baroness and noble Lord for their comments. Like them, I pay tribute to all those involved in Operation Pitting. We of course owe a huge debt of gratitude to the 150,000 people who served in Afghanistan and to the 457 who tragically lost their lives.

The noble...

I thank the noble Baroness and noble Lord for their comments. Like them, I pay tribute to all those involved in Operation Pitting. We of course owe a huge debt of gratitude to the 150,000 people who served in Afghanistan and to the 457 who tragically lost their lives.

The noble...

My Lords, the Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, other Ministers and the Chief of the Defence Staff are all very fond of the phrase, “Even the Taliban were surprised at the speed of the Afghan collapse.” They do not use this because we are interested; they use it because it is...

My Lords, the Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, other Ministers and the Chief of the Defence Staff are all very fond of the phrase, “Even the Taliban were surprised at the speed of the Afghan collapse.” They do not use this because we are interested; they use it because it is...

I have to say to the noble Lord that we were working on preparations. The preparations for Operation Pitting, for instance, involved intensive work by many government departments over recent months. It was the huge effort, bravery and commitment of our Armed Forces personnel, diplomats and civil servants in Kabul...

I have to say to the noble Lord that we were working on preparations. The preparations for Operation Pitting, for instance, involved intensive work by many government departments over recent months. It was the huge effort, bravery and commitment of our Armed Forces personnel, diplomats and civil servants in Kabul...

I must begin, once again, by declaring my interest as an ambassador for HALO, a charity that is continuing its mine clearance activities—and related activities, of course—in Afghanistan.

It is easy for all of us to commend the remarkable courage and ingenuity of everyone involved in the Kabul airlift. It was,...

I must begin, once again, by declaring my interest as an ambassador for HALO, a charity that is continuing its mine clearance activities—and related activities, of course—in Afghanistan.

It is easy for all of us to commend the remarkable courage and ingenuity of everyone involved in the Kabul airlift. It was,...

I certainly agree with the noble Lord in his last comment. However, I dispute the idea that we have not been working with our international partners. Through the UN Security Council, the G7 and NATO, we have played a leading role in pushing for international consensus to agree a unified...

I certainly agree with the noble Lord in his last comment. However, I dispute the idea that we have not been working with our international partners. Through the UN Security Council, the G7 and NATO, we have played a leading role in pushing for international consensus to agree a unified...

My Lords, I fully commend the Government on the action that they took to support those who served with our forces and supported our people in Afghanistan. However, I have a question, although I do not expect the Lord Privy Seal to have an answer to it now. I want...

My Lords, I fully commend the Government on the action that they took to support those who served with our forces and supported our people in Afghanistan. However, I have a question, although I do not expect the Lord Privy Seal to have an answer to it now. I want...

I thank the noble Baroness for her comments. I will certainly make sure that I raise her points with the relevant Ministers and departments; I will ask somebody to get back to her with further details.

I thank the noble Baroness for her comments. I will certainly make sure that I raise her points with the relevant Ministers and departments; I will ask somebody to get back to her with further details.

My Lords, I join others who have already commended the fantastic work of our troops, diplomatic staff and civil servants in getting so many people out of Afghanistan under very difficult circumstances. However, it is almost 20 years to the day since the events that gave rise to the invasion...

My Lords, I join others who have already commended the fantastic work of our troops, diplomatic staff and civil servants in getting so many people out of Afghanistan under very difficult circumstances. However, it is almost 20 years to the day since the events that gave rise to the invasion...

We assess that al-Qaeda is now less active in Afghanistan than it was before 2001 but, of course, we acknowledge completely that the group has not ceased to exist and remains a threat. Obviously, there are the terms of the US-Taliban agreement where the Taliban made commitments on preventing international...

We assess that al-Qaeda is now less active in Afghanistan than it was before 2001 but, of course, we acknowledge completely that the group has not ceased to exist and remains a threat. Obviously, there are the terms of the US-Taliban agreement where the Taliban made commitments on preventing international...

I thank the right reverend Prelate. We are certainly working on his first point about air routes. We have been working particularly with, for instance, the Qataris and the US to think about ways we might facilitate that. I can certainly reassure him that we are talking to our international...

I thank the right reverend Prelate. We are certainly working on his first point about air routes. We have been working particularly with, for instance, the Qataris and the US to think about ways we might facilitate that. I can certainly reassure him that we are talking to our international...

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Browne, talked about open-source material looking at the situation in Afghanistan in the first half of this year. Closer to home, your Lordships’ International Relations and Defence Committee produced a report in January on the UK and Afghanistan in which we outlined considerable concerns....

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Browne, talked about open-source material looking at the situation in Afghanistan in the first half of this year. Closer to home, your Lordships’ International Relations and Defence Committee produced a report in January on the UK and Afghanistan in which we outlined considerable concerns....

As I said, intelligence and information were obviously being assessed by the FCDO and the MoD throughout this and plans were being taken. It is a fact that the speed at which the Taliban moved took people by surprise; people, including the Taliban, have admitted that. We did this evacuation...

As I said, intelligence and information were obviously being assessed by the FCDO and the MoD throughout this and plans were being taken. It is a fact that the speed at which the Taliban moved took people by surprise; people, including the Taliban, have admitted that. We did this evacuation...

Does my noble friend not agree that the Prime Minister has at his hand two possible levers: one is the requirement of the Taliban for diplomatic recognition and the other their requirement for international aid? Can we have her assurance that the Prime Minister, within the international community, will make...

Does my noble friend not agree that the Prime Minister has at his hand two possible levers: one is the requirement of the Taliban for diplomatic recognition and the other their requirement for international aid? Can we have her assurance that the Prime Minister, within the international community, will make...

Yes, I can assure my noble friend that that is exactly what we will be doing. We will also want to be pragmatic and through organisations and some form of dialogue see whether we can talk to the Taliban and encourage them to do the things that we are talking...

Yes, I can assure my noble friend that that is exactly what we will be doing. We will also want to be pragmatic and through organisations and some form of dialogue see whether we can talk to the Taliban and encourage them to do the things that we are talking...

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for engaging with the question that I asked earlier, but she did so without dealing with the germane point of the evidence: did the Government have the ability in any form to come to the conclusions reached by other people who were not...

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for engaging with the question that I asked earlier, but she did so without dealing with the germane point of the evidence: did the Government have the ability in any form to come to the conclusions reached by other people who were not...

I am afraid that all I can do is once again reiterate the point that the specific evacuation plan for Afghanistan was revised in January 2021 and kept under review until it was enacted. Plans within it included options to support and evacuate our diplomatic team, British nationals and their...

I am afraid that all I can do is once again reiterate the point that the specific evacuation plan for Afghanistan was revised in January 2021 and kept under review until it was enacted. Plans within it included options to support and evacuate our diplomatic team, British nationals and their...