Boris Johnson faced a furious backlash from Conservative MPs during a torrid session in the House of Commons over the UK's conduct in Afghanistan. Eleven former cabinet ministers were among dozens of Tory MPs who condemned Britain's failure to anticipate the Taliban's rapid takeover of Kabul and the perceived humiliation on the world stage. More than 30 Tory MPs spoke against the government's actions, with only a handful offering support.
Former prime minister Theresa May delivered a scathing attack on foreign policy and intelligence failures, questioning whether the UK’s intelligence was so poor or its understanding of the Afghan government so weak. She suggested Johnson should have sought a Nato alliance to remain in Afghanistan without the United States. Other ex-cabinet ministers including Liam Fox, Jeremy Hunt, Iain Duncan Smith, and Owen Paterson joined the criticism, with Paterson calling the withdrawal the “UK’s biggest humiliation since Suez”.
In the House of Lords, former chancellor Philip Hammond described a “catastrophic failure of western policy”, while Michael Howard said the withdrawal “fatally undermines the credibility” of future western assurances. Conservative foreign affairs committee chair Tom Tugendhat, a former army officer in Afghanistan, gave an emotional speech drawing rare applause from MPs across the house. He condemned President Joe Biden’s claim that Afghan forces lacked courage, calling it “shameful”.
Questions were also raised about intelligence failures after Johnson had claimed on 8 July that there was no military path to victory for the Taliban. Former chief whip Mark Harper pressed the prime minister on the “catastrophic failure of our intelligence or assessment of our intelligence”. Some Conservative MPs privately called for an inquiry by the intelligence and security committee and for the release of relevant intelligence assessments.
