Dominic Raab accused of being 'missing in action' as he was on holiday when Kabul fell to Taliban

Dominic Raab was accused of being “missing in action” as it emerged he was abroad on holiday when the Afghanistan capital of Kabul fell to the Taliban.

The Foreign Secretary was returning to the UK from overseas on Sunday as he faced criticism from the Tory as well as Labour benches for not speaking up more in the last week.

Parliament was recalled on Sunday for a special single day sitting, with MPs due to debate the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Boris Johnson will interrupt his own summer holiday plans, delivering the opening statement to Parliament for that debate, which is expected to see fierce criticism of the Government.

One Tory MP called the Afghanistan collapse the “biggest single disaster of British foreign policy since Suez”, the 1956 crisis that saw then prime minister Anthony Eden resign.

Questions are mounting for Mr Raab over whether he should have called off his overseas holiday sooner than Sunday and about the extent of his engagement on the Afghan crisis this week.

A well-placed source told The Telegraph that Mr Raab had not talked to any of the UK ambassadors in the countries surrounding Afghanistan by Sunday afternoon.

The countries listed by the source were Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan.

The source also said that Mr Raab had not talked to the foreign minister of Pakistan, which shares a border with Afghanistan, until Sunday, the day the Taliban entered Kabul.

Approached for comment about the two claims last night, a Foreign Office spokesman did not deny either. Instead the spokesman said Mr Raab “has been in touch with key partners throughout the crisis”.

It is unclear where Mr Raab has been on holiday. His break was not made public at the time and on Sunday the Foreign Office did not give a location.

Criticism of his absence was mounting from both Conservative and Labour figures on Sunday night.

Tom Tugendhat, the Tory chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee who served in Afghanistan, questioned why Mr Raab had not spoken in public about the worsening situation in Afghanistan.

Mr Tugendhat said: "We haven't heard from the Foreign Secretary in about a week, despite this being the biggest single foreign policy disaster since Suez, so I don't know what the Foreign Office is thinking."

Lord Robertson, the Labour peer and former defence secretary who once served as secretary general of Nato, said: “It is stunning that the Foreign Secretary would stay on holiday as our mission in Afghanistan disintegrated.

"The horrors unfolding with every minute demand focused attention from the top. The urgency involves both the evacuation of British citizens but also what is now to happen to the people of Afghanistan.

“The fact that the Foreign Secretary is missing in action shows graphically the lack of purpose in our government’s attitude to what we set out to do 20 years ago.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The Foreign Secretary is personally overseeing the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office response, and engaging with international partners. He is returning to the UK today, given the situation.”

In recent days former UK ambassadors to Afghanistan, former military figures who helped lead Britain’s military efforts in the country and ex-soldiers who served there have been severely critical of the Government’s handling of the withdrawal.

Johnny Mercer, the Tory MP and former veterans minister who served in Afghanistan as a British soldier, expressed his frustration at the situation on Sunday.

Mr Mercer told Sky News: “I never thought I’d see the day either as a serviceman or as a member of the Conservative Party where we would essentially surrender to the Taliban and leave these people to their fate. But that day has come.”

MPs will be scrambling to cut short their own holidays to make it back to Parliament for the debate on Wednesday, with in-person attendance being encouraged by the parliamentary authorities.

The Prime Minister last night urged MPs to contribute to the debate, though fell short on calling for all contributors to attend Parliament in person to speak.

Mr Johnson said: “It is an important moment, it's a big moment. I think it's right that Parliament should debate it. I think MPs will want to have their say.

“It is also, of course, probably a logistically difficult moment for many MPs who would have made long-standing commitments.

“But as you know, the wonders of Zoom technology are there and if MPs cannot get in person into the House [of Commons] then I'm sure they will be wanting to tune in and express their views.”