The Foreign Secretary has met his Qatari counterpart in Doha, as part of a series of meetings to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
Fresh from his bruising two-hour session before the foreign affairs committee, Dominic Raab has flown to Afghanistan’s neighbour to discuss reopening Kabul airport and secure safe passage for remaining British nationals and eligible Afghan refugees.
He will also meet the Amir of Qatar, but is not expected to meet Taliban representatives but will receive a briefing from Sir Simon Gass, who has done so.
The Cabinet minister has come under fire for failing to sufficiently engage with the situation, as has been unfavourably compared with German foreign minister Heiko Maas, who built bridges with several central Asian countries, enabling safe passage across land borders into Uzbekistan.
The UK is also hoping Qatar and other international partners will help prevent terrorist groups such as Isis-K and al-Qaeda from bubbling up under the Taliban regime and “prevent Afghanistan soil being used to threaten the security of other countries” as well as protecting human rights, especially those of women and girls.
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Images of the Foreign Secretary's trip to Doha have started to drop, showing Dominic Raab meet with both Afghan refugees and his counterpart.
Mr Raab flew to Qatar overnight, amid criticism that he failed to engage sufficiently with leaders of countries within the region.
Dominic Raab's position as Foreign Secretary is "untenable now", a Labour frontbencher has said.
"In the last 18 months we have seen him... withdraw from the world stage, cut the aid budget - he was not interested in Afghanistan in the last 18 months," Preet Kaur Gill, shadow international development secretary, told Sky News.
"There was some indication that this could have happened - it could have happened to Ashraf Ghani's government," she added, in reference to his claim that intelligence suggested a slower transition to Taliban control.
"It is not right that [ministers] feel they can just turn up and not answer questions," she added.
"This is a huge foreign policy failure - his position is untenable now."
Dominic Raab "hasn't had a clear plan" for how to deal with the regime change in Afghanistan, a Labour frontbencher has said.
Preet Kaur Gill, shadow international development secretary, told Sky News more needed to be done to help those struggling with food and water in the country, and support the UN regarding aid and refugees.
"We need a multilateral approach," she said.
"What is the plan on counter terror?... How do we make sure we are able to give aid into this country?
"There are people reliant on food supplies - is the international community going to let them starve?
The Foreign Secretary's visit to Qatar is "symptomatic of the failures" of his time in the role, a Labour frontbencher has said.
Preet Kaur Gill, shadow international development secretary, said it was "really concerning" that Dominic Raab was only now going to the region to secure safe passage across land borders because many crossings had now been closed.
"Those talks haven't taken place, so yes this is welcome but there are other immediate priorities that need to be addressed now [such as] humanitar ian aid and assistance."
She added: "This is symptomatic of the failures of Dominic Raab, who actually withdrew from Afghanistan many months ago."
A former UK ambassador to Afghanistan, said he is sure there will be discussion "quite soon" about the options for having and restoring a diplomatic presence within Kabul.
Sir Nick Kay told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We've got an embassy now set up in Doha for Afghanistan, but it won't be a substitute in the end for having people on the ground who can advocate for human rights, support civil society there on the ground, liaise with others for humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
"And also crucially oversee what we hope will be a safe passage programme arranged with the Taliban."
Sir Nick said "clearly" there are lessons to learn from the handling of the situation in recent months and also the last 20 years.
"We need to be humble and we need to absolutely recognise that this has not gone as was expected, hoped, and desired," he said.
The NHS is ready to enter schools to vaccinate children aged 12-15 if the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) gives the green light, Gavin Williamson has said.
The Education Secretary said there was "capacity to be able to deliver vaccinations for children as well as deliver a booster programme - so it's not either/or.
"It's a situation about making sure we combat this virus as best as possible and we're ready.
He told Sky News: "If we get the get-go from JCVI we're ready - the NHS, which has been so successful in rolling out this programme of vaccination, is ready to go into schools and deliver that vaccination programme for children."
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will make a decision on vaccinating 12 to 15-year-olds "very, very soon", Gavin Williamson has said.
The Education Secretary told Sky News: "We obviously wait for the decision of JCVI. Probably a lot of us are very keen to hear that and very much hope that we're in a position of being able to roll out vaccinations for those who are under the age of 16.
"I would certainly be hoping that it is a decision that will be made very, very soon."
He said he could not give a timeline for when the decision is expected because the JCVI is a "completely independent committee", adding: "They're not there to take instructions from the Government."
"They will reach a decision, I'm told and I understand, very, very soon," he said, adding parents would "would find it deeply reassuring to have a choice of whether their children should have a vaccine or not".
Schools could be shut again or other restrictions such as bubbles reimposed under contingency plans should there be an outbreak, Gavin Williamson has suggested.
The Education Secretary said mass testing was critical to keeping schools open this term but there is "a contingency framework in place if there are areas where we do need to take action".
He told Sky News he was "absolutely clear we want to avoid" shutting schools again, as well as avoiding bubbles and other restrictions, but did not rule it out. Currently children with symptoms will be told to get a test but can continue to go to school unless they test positive, he confirmed.
It was "really important that children get that normal experience", he told Sky News. "This is why we are doing that mass testing in schools... really trying to spot those Covid cases before they go into school."
The Foreign Office was privately warning in July that the Taliban was sweeping across Afghanistan so quickly that it could retake power, it emerged on Wednesday.
The leaked risk assessment, which emerged during an appearance by Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, before MPs, also warned that the Afghan security forces may collapse and the UK could be forced to close its embassy in Kabul.
The report, seen in full by The Telegraph, is dated July 22 – more than three weeks before Kabul fell and two weeks before Mr Raab headed to Crete for a summer holiday, leading to widespread criticism of his failure to return sooner during the crisis.
Fresh from his appearance before the foreign affairs committee yesterday, Dominic Raab has travelled to Doha in a bid to secure safe passage for remaining British nationals and eligible Afghans.
The Foreign Secretary remains under pressure over his handling of the withdrawal - but he is far from the only Cabinet minister in that position.
Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, is back in the spotlight with schools returning this week. And Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, could be likewise if the autumn booster programme fails to match up to the main programme earlier this year.
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