Inside Politics: Raab in Qatar and third Covid jab for vulnerable

Foreign secretary meets with leaders to discuss safe routes out of Afghanistan for those stranded, and JCVI approves additional vaccine dose for those who are deemed clinically at risk, writes Matt Mathers

(PA)

Following a less than convincing performance at the foreign affairs committee, Dominic Raab had plenty to mull over on his flight to Qatar; not least how to get those stranded in Afghanistan out as the Taliban tightens its grip. Closer to home, those with severely weakened immune systems are to get a third vaccine dose, the ministry of defence has denied claims it is drawing up plans to move Trident out of Scotland in the event of independence, and No 10 and the trade department are said to be blocking trade unions from sensitive trade talks.

Inside the bubble

Raab holds talks with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, about how to secure a safe passage out of Afghanistan for all those who have been abandoned by the US and the UK.

Coming up:

-Labour mayor of South Yorkshire Dan Jarvis on Times Radio Breakfast at 8.15am

-Former British ambassador to the US Christopher Meyer on Sky News at 8.30am

Daily Briefing

RAAB NOT OUT: You know the drill by now: minister is accused of performing poorly in a crisis; minister gets hauled before a select committee to explain their decision-making; minister gives unsatisfactory answers; minister keeps their job because Boris Johnson has a hefty majority. It was the turn of Dominic Raab yesterday, and while there was a whole lot the foreign secretary appeared not to know about his own department, there were no killer blows to make his position untenable.

LEAKED REPORT: The most revelatory moment from the session came when Tom Tugendhat, the foreign affairs committee chair, presented Raab with a leaked report showing he was warned weeks before the fall of Kabul that a swift Taliban advance could cause the collapse of the Afghan security forces and a major humanitarian crisis. “Sorry, the source of that?” a puzzled looking Raab said when asked about the report. The source was The Principal Risk Report, put together by Raab’s own department and given to officials on 22 July.

‘ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL’: Labour has accused Raab of being “asleep at the wheel”. The Foreign Office, meanwhile, has pushed back, saying “it is simply wrong to suggest this document is in any way at odds with our detailed assessments of the situation in Afghanistan or public position throughout the crisis.” Raab has flown to the Gulf region to hold talks about the government’s “top priority” of safely evacuating British nationals and Afghan interpreters from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. He is likely to face further questions as to why, unlike some of his European counterparts, he did not make these trips as the crisis unfolded. The Whitehall blame game continues today after Ben Wallace gave an interview to The Spectator, in which the defence secretary dismisses Raab’s failure of intelligence claims.

THIRD JAB: Around half a million vulnerable Britons are to be offered a third dose of coronavirus vaccine, but a decision has yet to be taken on the awaited autumn booster programme. Anyone aged 12 or over with a weakened immune system – including patients with blood cancer, advanced HIV or who have had recent organ transplants – will be eligible for the jab following a recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Health secretary Sajid Javid stressed it was not the start of the booster programme, which he said would “begin in September to ensure the protection people have built from vaccines is maintained over time and ahead of the winter”.

TRIDENT MOVE? The UK government has denied making secret plans to move its Trident nuclear submarines abroad in the event of Scottish independence. Several senior officials were cited by the Financial Times on Wednesday as saying they had been briefed on plans which could see Britain’s nuclear deterrents housed in France or the United States if Nicola Sturgeon’s governing Scottish National Party achieves its goal of Scotland seceding from the UK. An MoD spokesperson insisted there were “no plans” to move the submarines.

UNIONS TRADE TALKS BAN: No 10 and the trade department are blocking trade unions from sensitive trade talks despite unions’ offers to sign confidentiality agreements, according to leading labour representatives. Business groups are allowed to scrutinise key details and some draft text of trade deals, but for more than a year, trade unions have been prevented from offering meaningful input on employment law and workers’ rights within secretive groups set up by the Department for International Trade (DIT). For the past four months, the decision on membership has been with No 10 after the trade department held off on including trade unions in these groups, The Independent understands. A DIT spokesperson said the department engages “extensively with trade unions to ensure the interests of workers are fully consulted in our trade policy”.

On the record

“Yeah, well, as I said, of course we are very mindful of that.”

Raab on Afghanistan risk report his department was sent weeks in advance of Kabul’s fall.

From the Twitterati

“Rarely have we seen a minister try to filibuster his own select committee hearing. But that’s what we got today.”

i columnist Ian Dunt on foreign secretary’s committee appearance.

Essential reading

• Salma Shah, The Independent: Afghanistan marks a turning point – the western alliance is at risk
• John Rentoul, The Independent: Dominic Raab was sure the stable door was shut when he went on holiday
• Iain Martin, The Times: End of Pax Americana leaves us all in the cold
• Ali Allawi and Fatih Birol, The Guardian: Without help for oil-producing countries, net zero by 2050 is a distant dream