Inside Politics: Boris Johnson’s Afghan resettlement scheme branded ‘woefully inadequate’

UK pledges to take 5,000 Afghan asylum seekers this year, with rest coming over ‘long term’, writes Matt Mathers

(PA)

As Afghans continued fleeing yesterday, the Taliban convened its first press conference in an attempt to rebrand itself as a moderate force that can be trusted. But few, apart from some UK officials who have so far displayed concerning levels of trust in the group’s leadership, are buying what the militants are selling. Reports say local journalists and human rights workers are already being rounded up, while women are forced to leave work for home. Parliament meets today to debate the ongoing crisis, but critics say the time for talking has long passed. Away from Afghanistan, Rishi Sunak is again coming under pressure again over the pensions “triple lock” and, in some more light-hearted news, Matt Hancock has become an unlikely TikTok star.

Inside the bubble

Our political commentator Andrew Grice on what to look out for today:

At 9.30am Boris Johnson will open a five-hour Commons debate on the dramatic events in Afghanistan. It will provide the biggest foreign policy test to date for both Johnson and Keir Starmer. MPs will not be able to zoom in to the debate from their holidays because the government – keen to let Tory MPs barrack Starmer in a packed chamber – allowed rules permitting virtual participation during the pandemic to lapse. MPs are still being “strongly encouraged” to wear masks in the chamber while not addressing it. The Lords will start their emergency debate on the crisis at 11am.

Coming up shortly:

-Home secretary Priti Patel on BBC Radio 4 Today at 8.10am

-Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy on Sky News at 8.30am

Daily Briefing

TRUST US: In surreal scenes from Kabul, the Taliban gave its first press conference some two days after taking over Afghanistan. Zabihullah Mujahid, the group’s spokesman, went on a charm offensive, vowing that women will have rights “within Islam’s framework” and that the militants will not seek to exact revenge on former government officials and those who fought for the West during the war. But reports to the contrary are piling up. The briefing features on most of this morning’s front pages. “Trust us, say Taliban”, says the i.

DEBT OF GRATITUDE: As has been the case every day since Sunday, there are a flurry of updates concerning the Afghanistan crisis. Here are some of them. Boris Johnson has today revealed more details of the UK’s refugee resettlement scheme for Afghans fleeing the new regime. Some 20,000 will be allowed to come to Britain in the coming years – but only 5,000 of those are eligible this year with the rest coming over the “long term”. And those who don’t make it onto planes at Kabul airport will have to make their own way. “We owe a debt of gratitude to all those who have worked with us to make Afghanistan a better place over the last 20 years,” the PM said announcing the plans.

NOT ENOUGH: But he was immediately attacked by opposition – and some of his own – MPs, who accused the government of not doing enough. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, said the “proposal does not meet the scale of the challenge.” “Not only does that risk leaving people in Afghanistan in deadly danger, it will also undermine the leadership role Britain must play in persuading international partners to live up to their responsibilities,” he added. Tobias Ellwood, the Tory MP and chair of the defence committee, described the 20,000 figure as “woefully inadequate”. The crisis, and the refugee flow that is following, has sparked fresh debate and reopened old divisions about the movement of people in Europe. Germany has said it will take 10,000 from Afghanistan, although it is unclear how or when those people will arrive. About 30,000 Afghans have fled the country every day over the past two weeks, with most going to Iran and Pakistan.

COMMON STRATEGY: Joe Biden is still coming under huge fire over his response to the crisis, which has been described as cold, clinical and unrepentant. Some of the commentary on Monday evening focused in on how the president still hadn’t spoken to any other world leaders since Kabul fell on Sunday. And sure enough, a phone call followed soon after. The White House said that Biden spoke with Johnson on Tuesday and “discussed the need for continued close coordination among allies and democratic partners on Afghanistan policy going forward, including ways the global community can provide further humanitarian assistance and support for refugees and other vulnerable Afghans”. The two men agreed to convene a meeting of G7 leaders next week.

TRIPLE...LOCKED?: Away from the crisis, the chancellor is under pressure to commit to a huge increase in the state pension next year, as the latest government figures show soaring wage growth in the UK. The government has promised to protect the “triple lock” to push up pension payments – but Sunak hinted last month it could be scrapped because voters would not consider it to be “fair”. The triple lock guarantee now looks set to push up pensions by around 8 per cent – costing taxpayers between £3bn and £4bn – because wages have bounced back so sharply from the Covid crisis.

MATT MOB: The former health secretary has gone viral as an unlikely TikTok star after being mobbed by a group of women on the District Line. A TikTok user named Georgia shared a video on Sunday of her and her group of friends accosting the Tory MP on the London Underground. On the Tube, he was pictured wearing a casual weekend outfit of a grey baseball cap, a matching face mask, a navy polo t-shirt, trainers, and a pair of bright orange shorts. The video shows the young women taking his hat off his head and passing it around to wear, and one of them is seen pulling his face mask down while talking to him on a station platform. The group in are then joined by other members of the public, as they are seen clapping and singing: “We love you Matt, we do”.

On the record

“We are going to allow women to work and study within our frameworks. Women are going to be very active within our society.”

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on how women will be treated under the new regime.

From the Twitterati

“I’ve known the Taliban spokesman at today’s press conference in Kabul for many years. Zabihullah Mujahid is a relatively moderate, pleasant man. But he’s seeking to calm the world’s fears, & he only speaks for one part of the Taliban movement.”

The BBC’s John Simpson on Mujahid’s comments at press conference.

Essential reading

• Ellen Mangan, The Independent: For Afghan women, the return of the Taliban is not about politics – it’s about life or death
• Anthony Seldon, The Independent: The lessons of history have not been learnt over Afghanistan
• Patrick Cockburn, The Independent: The US and UK got things so wrong in Afghanistan because they do not understand the Afghan way of war
• Kori Shacke, The Atlantic: Why the Afghan Army folded