ladbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

UK's Ambassador To Afghanistan Still In Kabul Personally Processing Visa Applications

UK's Ambassador To Afghanistan Still In Kabul Personally Processing Visa Applications

Sir Laurie Bristow is said to be remaining where he is despite people desperate to evacuate as the Taliban taking control of the country

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

As people desperately flee Afghanistan, the UK's ambassador to the country plans to stay put in order to help process applications for those seeking to leave.

Sir Laurie Bristow is said to be working from the airport in Kabul alongside Home Office staff, diplomatic workers, and the armed services, to process Visas.

Sir Laurie Bristow.
PA

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said there would be 'significant numbers flying out day by day' and that the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy was 'open-ended'.

He also explained that the UK will continue the evacuation effort for 'as long as we are able to do so and as long as it is safe to do so'.

He told a Westminster briefing: "We will continue to do everything we can, our offer is open-ended, we haven't put an end date on that and we will continue to do all we can including - as the Defence Secretary said - should individuals manage to get to other countries and be brought in from those other countries."

PA

The Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war.

The insurgents stormed across the country, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US and its allies melted away.

The Taliban, a militant group that ran the country in the late 1990s, have again taken control. After they blitzed across the country in recent days, the Western-backed government that has run the country for 20 years collapsed.

Afghans, fearing for the future, are racing to the airport, one of the last routes out of the country.

East2West
East2West

Earlier today Afghan locals were seen clinging on to a plane as it prepared to take off at Kabul Airport.

Several were hanging on to the wheels of a US Air Force cargo plane and two people were believed to have fallen from the plane soon after take-off.

A Kabul news agency reported: "Locals near Kabul airport claim that three young men who were holding themselves tightly in the wheels of an aeroplane fell on top of people's houses.

"One of the locals confirmed this and said that the fall of these people made a loud and terrifying noise."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: World News, News