Government policy on Afghanistan

Foreign Affairs Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 1 Sep 2021 Closed: 29 Jul 2022 Parliament page
International forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, 20 years after the US-led invasion. The Taliban quickly gained control of the country, taking Kabul on 15 August and triggering an immense effort to evacuate UK nationals and others eligible for protection. This inquiry will examine the FCDO’s role in the withdrawal, … Read more
8 Recommendations
11 Conclusions
1 Report
7 Oral sessions
9 Letters
7 Events
Activity timeline 18 events
22 Feb
2023
Correspondence
29 Jul
2022
Report published
24 May
2022
Report published
24 May
2022
Correspondence
25 Apr
2022
Oral evidence
22 Apr
2022
Correspondence
21 Mar
2022
Oral evidence
2 Mar
2022
Correspondence
28 Jan
2022
Correspondence
27 Jan
2022
Correspondence
25 Jan
2022
Oral evidence
7 Dec
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 7 sessions
25 Apr 2022
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Foreign Affairs Committee
Sir Stephen Lovegrove · Ministry of Defence
21 Mar 2022
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Foreign Affairs Committee
Nigel Casey MVO · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE · Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
25 Jan 2022
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Foreign Affairs Committee
Admiral Sir Ben Key KCB CBE · Ministry of Defence Nigel Casey MVO · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP · Ministry of Defence The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
7 Dec 2021
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Foreign Affairs Committee
Nigel Casey MVO · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Sir Laurie Bristow KCMG Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE · Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
23 Nov 2021
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Foreign Affairs Committee
Field Marshal the Lord Richards of Herstmonceux GCB CBE DSO DL Kori Schake · American Enterprise Institute Rt Hon Rory Stewart Rudra Chaudhuri · Carnegie India
19 Oct 2021
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Foreign Affairs Committee
General David Petraeus (ret.) Laurel Miller · US State Department Professor Michael Semple Shaharzad Akbar · Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission Shukria Barakzai
1 Sep 2021
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Foreign Affairs Committee
Rt Hon Dominic Raab
Title HC No. Published Items Response
First report - Missing in action: UK leadership and the withdraw… HC 169 24 May 2022 19 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
3 results
Clear
4 Conclusion Not Addressed
First report - Missing in action: …
Managing a complex evacuation requires Government departments to work together seamlessly, including the FCDO, MOD,...
Managing a complex evacuation requires Government departments to work together seamlessly, including the FCDO, MOD, intelligence agencies, Home Office and Cabinet Office. The National Security Council is “the main forum for collective discussion of the government’s objectives for national security”. … Read more
Government Response
The response details the pace and intensity of cross-government work on Afghanistan, the meetings held, and the planning for Op PITTING and the Evacuation Handling Centre, but does not directly address the failure of the National Security Council to adequately coordinate cross-Government planning and preparation.
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
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11 Recommendation Not Addressed
First report - Missing in action: …
The FCDO has repeatedly given us answers that, in our judgement, are at best intentionally...
The FCDO has repeatedly given us answers that, in our judgement, are at best intentionally evasive, and often deliberately misleading. On Nowzad, they only admitted that the case had been in any way unusual when faced with the evidence of … Read more
Government Response
The government's response expresses regret about whistleblowers, reaffirms protection for staff raising concerns, and states the department will build trust with an updated policy. However, it completely fails to address the committee's specific recommendation regarding the Permanent Under-Secretary considering his position.
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
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13 Recommendation Not Addressed
First report - Missing in action: …
The FCDO failed to take the basic administrative step of recording its decisions.
The FCDO failed to take the basic administrative step of recording its decisions. It is fundamental to any bureaucracy to know precisely what decisions have been made, by whom, with what authority, and when. This would be a serious failure … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the general need to keep accurate records for locally employed staff. However, it completely ignores the committee's significant recommendation that the Permanent Under-Secretary consider his position due to a loss of confidence.
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
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Government Response AI assessment · 19 of 8 classified
Accepted 2
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 10
Not Addressed 3
Rejected 2
Total 8 recs + 11 conclusions
Correspondence 9 letters
22 Feb 2023 Correspondence from the Permanent Under-Secretary relating to the FCDO’s internal ‘Lessons Learned’ review from the Afghanistan crisis, dated 08/02/2023
Parliament page
24 May 2022 Correspondence from the Permanent Under-Secretary relating to the FCDO’s internal Afghanistan Crisis ‘Lessons Learned’ review, dated 09/03/2022
Parliament page
22 Apr 2022 Correspondence from the National Security Adviser relating to the evacuation of Nowzad staff from Afghanistan, dated 28/03/2022
Parliament page
2 Mar 2022 Correspondence with Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon following up on the FAC oral evidence session on 25 January 2022 relating to Afghanistan, dated 28/02/2022, 23/02/2022 and 07/02/2022
Parliament page
28 Jan 2022 To committee Letter from the Permanent Under-Secretary relating to Afghanistan, dated 27/01/2022
Parliament page
27 Jan 2022 Correspondence with the Permanent Under-Secretary following his appearance before the Committee on 7 December 2021, dated 17/01/2022 and 15/12/2021
Parliament page
24 Nov 2021 Correspondence with the Foreign Secretary relating to Chevening scholars from Afghanistan, dated 27/10/2021 and 12/11/2021
Parliament page
3 Nov 2021 Correspondence with the Foreign Secretary following up on the 1 September evidence session relating to Afghanistan, dated 27/10/2021 and 27/09/2021
Parliament page
21 Sep 2021 Correspondence from the Foreign Secretary following his appearance before the Committee on 1 September 2021, dated 15/09/2021
Parliament page