Boris Johnson is facing criticism after footage emerged of him talking to employees at the government’s Afghanistan crisis centre.
The prime minister’s approach was branded “flippant” and “uncaring” by critics, some of whom likened the footage to to an awkward scene from a fly-on-the-wall comedy.
In the video, aired on the BBC's Newsnight programme, the prime minister approaches an employee and says: "Are you the guys inundated with all the emails from everywhere in the world saying, please help my son, mother to get out of Afghanistan? I've had a few of those.”
The footage, which has been widely shared on social media, triggered condemnation from opposition politicians.
Labour shadow cabinet minister Luke Pollard noted that there were still people including children waiting to be evacuated, commenting: “This is the person in charge right now.”
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Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “These flippant remarks show Boris Johnson in his true light, uncaring and unable to master the detail during this awful crisis.
“The emails he refers to are from desperate family and friends worried that the Taliban will kill their loved ones.
“Perhaps if Boris Johnson had understood and planned for the dangers of the Kabul evacuation, thousands of people would not be at crisis point.”
The head of the armed forces announced on Saturday morning that the UK’s civilian evacuation from Kabul would be winding up today, with the final British military personnel to be evacuated soon after.
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The prime minister on Friday night spoke of his “great sense of regret” that some people could not be evacuated from Afghanistan.
He said: “Of course, as we come down to the final hours of the operation, there will sadly be people who haven’t got through, people who might qualify.”