Boris Johnson faced a wave of Conservative anger over the UK's withdrawal from Afghanistan, with more than 30 Tory MPs speaking against the government during a torrid Commons session. Eleven former cabinet ministers were among those expressing fury at failures in intelligence and preparation, while only a handful of backbenchers voiced support.
Theresa May delivered a scathing attack, questioning whether British intelligence was 'really so poor' and suggesting the prime minister should have sought a Nato-led mission without the United States. 'Or did we just think we had to follow the United States and on a wing and a prayer it would be all right on the night?' she asked. Other former ministers, including Liam Fox and Jeremy Hunt, echoed her criticism.
Several Conservatives drew historical parallels. Iain Duncan Smith said the departure from Kabul was 'shocking but also very true' to the fall of Saigon, while Owen Paterson called it the 'UK's biggest humiliation since Suez'. In the Lords, Philip Hammond said there had been a 'catastrophic failure of western policy', and Michael Howard warned that future western promises would be 'in debased coinage'.
Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs committee, made an emotional speech defending Afghan soldiers after Joe Biden claimed they had lacked the stomach to fight. 'To see their commander-in-chief call into question the courage of men I fought with – to claim that they ran – is shameful,' he said. He added that the moment 'damn well feels like' defeat.
Mr Johnson insisted Britain could not have stayed 'without American might', but faced questions over why intelligence had not predicted the Taliban's rapid advance. Mark Harper, a former chief whip, asked about the 'catastrophic failure of our intelligence or assessment of our intelligence'. The prime minister said events had unfolded faster 'than even the Taliban predicted', but insisted the government had not been caught 'unawares'.
