To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to repatriate British citizens from Afghanistan.
Answered on
28 September 2021
Under Operation PITTING, our armed forces and Civil Service staff worked around the clock to evacuate around 15,000 people - including around 8,000 British Nationals. We evacuated more British nationals and their families than we previously thought were in Afghanistan. Working closely with the Government of Qatar we have supported a further 60+ British nationals and their dependents leave Kabul. Our immediate focus is on ensuring safe passage for anyone remaining in Afghanistan who is eligible to come to the UK and wishes to leave. We continue to work closely with the Qatari authorities to facilitate the evacuation of British nationals from Kabul. Rapid Deployment Teams have been sent to Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to reinforce our Embassy staff to process arrivals from Afghanistan. Teams have also deployed to Qatar and UAE to assist our operations there and we are providing consular support to British nationals who were evacuated by other allies, including via US airbases in Europe.