Whistleblower says UK’s “chaotic” Afghan withdrawal led to murder of some left behind

The British government has been defending its withdrawal from Afghanistan as the Taliban seized power, after a UK government whistleblower said the operation was “chaotic” and “dysfunctional” and it was clear that some of those Afghans left behind had been murdered by the Taliban.

Afghans who had served alongside British troops or diplomatic staff were all eligible for evacuation, as western forces pulled out in August 2021.

However Raphael Marshall, a former employee at the UK Foreign Office, said that understaffing meant that thousands of emails from Afghans pleading for help from the British authorities were not read.

Mr Marshall said that of the 95% of applicants left behind "it is clear that some have since been murdered by the Taliban". He also claimed that the Prime Minister Boris Johnson had personally pushed for animals to be rescued, at the “direct expense” of humans.

Sophie Raworth presents BBC News at Ten reporting by diplomatic correspondent James Landale and Secunder Kermani in Kabul. afghanistan.afghan