The terror group has slaughtered 900 people in Kandahar province alone in the last month, local police say, as US and Nato forces pull out from the country.

       Taliban fighters have now turned their guns on Helmand, where British troops fought.

       The Daily Express yesterday joined every major newspaper, as well as Sky News and ITN, in requesting urgent sanctuary for Afghans who worked with British journalists in the war.

       The letter, sent to Boris Johnson, said: "Fighting is worsening nationwide and the Kabul government has lost control of more than half the country."

       Tory grandee David Davis said: "Our inability to help those who have helped us would not only be a moral failure, it would be an excellent recruiting tool for those who mean us harm."

       And Tobias Ellwood, the chair of Parliament's Defence Select Committee, said: "Britain must step up and get a plan in place to deliver effective military support. If we don't, everything we fought for since 2001 could be lost."