Boris Johnson has authorized the evacuation of animals from Afghanistan, according to emails from the State Department | politics news

[ad_1]

The whistleblower’s emails raised further questions about Boris Johnson’s insistence that he did not intervene to help animal charities during the evacuation of Afghanistan.

Last December, the prime minister dismissed allegations by a former State Department official that the government was prioritizing animals over humans as “pure nonsense”.

But new emails from the Foreign Affairs Committee, which is conducting an investigation into the government’s handling of the Afghan crisis, indicate that Johnson has personally authorized efforts to rescue pets and animals.

What do new emails say?

On August 25, 2021, an official working for Secretary of State Lord Goldsmith sent an email to the State Department’s “Special Cases” team regarding the potential eviction of an unnamed animal charity.

The official writes: “The rewarding charity, Nawzad, which is run by a former Royal Marine, has received a lot of publicity and the Prime Minister has just authorized the evacuation of its staff and animals, [animal charity – name redacted] They hope to be treated the same.”

This appears to support claims made last year in evidence written by whistleblower Rafael Marshall, a State Department office official, that the department “has been instructed by the prime minister” to use a “significant capacity” to help animals leave the country under their care. Nowzad, managed by Paul “Pen” Farthing.

“There was a direct trade-off between moving the Nawzad animals and evacuating the British and Afghan evacuees, including Afghans who served with British soldiers,” he said.

Asked about this at the time, the Prime Minister said: “No, it is pure nonsense.

“What I can say is that Operation Pitting, to fly 15,000 people out of Kabul the way we did over the summer, has been one of the outstanding military achievements of the last 50 years or more.

“The role of the State Department, the role of the Border Force, everyone involved, the Home Office officials, they have done an absolutely amazing job, processing these incredibly difficult and very complex claims, incredibly quickly.”

Photo: Ben Farthing, founder of the British charity Nawzad, has called for the animals to be evacuated from Afghanistan

Asked about the new emails, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “The issue remains that the prime minister has not ordered officials to take any particular action.”

This was reiterated by a spokesperson for Number 10, who said: “The prime minister had no role in authorizing individual evacuations from Afghanistan during the meditation process, including Nawzad staff and animals.

At no time did the Prime Minister instruct his employees to take any particular action regarding Nawzad.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said he had “at no time asked Johnson” to “evacuate Ben Farthing, his workforce or his pets”.

“As I made clear at the time, we will not place pets in front of people, and as the procedures showed, Pen Farthing finally left and staff were forced to leave after completing the evacuation by other means,” he said in a statement.

Image source: Defense Minister denies government ‘puts pets before people’

“The evacuation was a DoD led operation, supported by the processing of requests by the Home Office and the FCDO.

“The idea that the environment minister and his officials have any authority or responsibility to manage the evacuation is absurd.”

Farthing launched a campaign to get his staff and animals out of Afghanistan as the Taliban overran Kabul, using an aircraft funded by donations.

The UK government sponsored a permit for a chartered flight, prompting claims that animals have been prioritized over people.

Asked the Prime Minister to come to the House of Commons and confront MPs

“It comes down to the moral authority of the prime minister and whether the prime minister is telling the truth,” Labor MP Chris Bryant, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told Sky News.

He said the prime minister should confront the deputies and answer questions.

“His authority, integrity and honor are on the line,” Bryant said. “He must come into the hall and defend it.”

Labour’s shadow defense secretary John Healy said: “Once again, the Prime Minister has been caught lying about what he was doing and deciding.

“He should not have prioritized the flight of animals from Afghanistan while the Afghans who worked in our armed forces were left behind,” he added.

“The damned revelation shows that Boris Johnson has once again lied to the British people,” said Leila Moran, a foreign affairs spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats.

“Boris Johnson’s card house continues to collapse. He must immediately issue a public statement to correct the record and tell the truth for once,” she said.

[ad_2]