Thread by @IanDunt

OK so, Dominic Raab at the foreign affairs select committee. That's a thing which will end any remaining confidence you might have in the governance of this nation and it is happening now.

Kicks off in five minutes. Video is here. As ever, mute this thread if you're not interested because I'll cover it pretty extensively over the next 90 mins.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/44…

This should be less depressing than a Commons debate because 1) select committees are better at meaningful scrutiny and 2) it'll be much shorter. Point 2 is more important than point 1.

Tom Tugendhat, who you may remember from that extraordinary speech in the Commons the other day, is the chair. He starts the questions.

Asks how many ministers are overseas right now. Raab doesn't know. Are there any in Afghanistan or the region? Raab won't answer because of the "security implications".

How many contacts did Raab have since the fall of Kabul with senior figures in the region? Raab says throughout August he's spoken to various foreign ministers.

Raab currently cutting a much more softly-spoken figure than he has been in media interviews where he is much more irate and hot-tempered. But that may not hold.

He reads off a sheet his assessment of the things he's been doing. Then says - again reading from a sheet - from mid-March to August 30 he had over 40 meetings or telephone calls "where Afghanistan was on the agenda".

Lots of waffle.

When was the last time a foreign minister went to Uzbekistan? No idea. Tajikistan? No idea.

What was Raab's contact with missions in those countries before August 15th to prepare for the fall of Kabul? Raab waffles, says all ambassadors fed in advice.

Distinct sense from Raab that he finds it irritating to be asked questions at all.

Tugendhat: Yesterday you said it wasn't the Foreign Office responsibility for errors that led us here. Clearly the PM is responsible for the joint intelligence committee. Is that where responsibility lies?

Raab says the joint committee (JIC) is there for independent assessments and diplomatic assessment comes on top of that. Raab trying to smear blame around without too much specificity, except of course that it does not lie with him.

Says, for the first time - but he will say it again - that the assessment was Taliban advance would be slower.

Was there any difference in the intelligence assessments within the UK? Raab refuses to answer.

The principle risk report for July 22nd, 2021 said there was rapid Taliban advance which could lead to a return to power. How did Raab's action change then?

Raab: "I'm sorry - the source of that?"

Tugendhat: "It's your principle risk report."

Raab says "of course we're very mindful of that". A posh way of saying precisely nothing. He then talks in general about standard practice for high risk embassies. Waffle.

Planning for military withdrawal began in April. Changed travel advice in April. Staff drawn down in May. Contingency planning also there for more rapid deterioration.

You can see from that that his implicit answer is that his actns did not change.

Tugendhat: "When did you last update the Neo for Afghanstan?"

Raab looks baffled.

Tugendhat: "The non-combatant evacuation operation order for Afghanistan."

Raab: "I'd have to check that."

You knew how many British citizens or entitled citizens required your services to evacuate?

Raab says he didn't, not least because some large families had a mix of "documented mononationals" and lack of documentation.

Tugendhat: Your assessment of people needing evacuation went from about 5,000 to 15,000 who were evacuated. Why are you confident of your numbers of those remaining in Afghanistan?

Raab: "We're not confident with any precision at all."

Tory MP Alicia Kearns asks about coalition building. What went so wrong that only Turkey was left working with the UK?

Raab says this is down to an "optimism bias" about the US changing its mind. Unclear what that has to do with the question, which operates regardless of the US' preferred outcome.

Kearns: "Why couldn't we convince Germany, france to form a new coalition on the ground making up the numbers the Americans were going to take out?"

Raab: There was no "will or appetite" to make up those kind of numbers. First convincing answer he's given.

Tugendhat: Given you foresaw all this, how come the French evacuated everyone they had and we were scrabbling around with a huge press of crowds at the airport and left people behind?

Raab: "I don't think you're comparing like for like."

"Lot;s of people were taken by surprise by the scale and the pace of the Taliban advance". There it is again. The dimwit chorus.

Tory MP Bob Seely, who served in Afghanistan: You've said we got it wrong. Why?

Raab: "There's a whole range of assumptions." Talks about the optimism bias again.

He says he always cautioned that the Taliban wouldn't engage in meaningful dialogue. Just another in the long list of things Raab apparently got right, even though it all looks like it's gone wrong.

Raab now seems to blame the entirety of the military intervention, asking if it ever had a clearly defined objective. So not only is he not to blame, but really the Tories aren't either and this goes back to what? Blair?

Tugendhat: "I'm struck by your comment about exit plans. What's the US' exit plan from South Korea?"

Raab: "I don't know."

He flubbers his tits a bit then says: "I don't think we see them in harms way in the way they've actively been in harms way in Afghanistan."

Tugendhat: "20 years after the end of the Korean war,the US still had thousands of troops in what was then a vicious military dictatorship with an economy smaller than Afghanistan's and a broken state, but despite that they endured and pushed through."

Labour Mp Chris Bryant: so There was majority intelligence view that Afghan forces would hold on for at least some period.Then a minority view, for which you compared a contingency plan in June. Most eggs in majority view basket and a few in minority view. Is that right?

Raab says he wouldn't out it that way, but then repeats a description which fits Bryant's perfectly.

Bryant says PM told Commons it wasn't true UK government didn't foresee it. So there was a contingency plan. And therefore they evidently didn't focus on it enough.

Raab: "We had planned."

Bryant: "This is your plan? This is what you planned?"

Raab wangs on about changing travel advice in April etc. Every time he cites the fucking travel advice in his defence a part of me dies which will never come to back to life.

Bryant: The US left two main airbases by July 2nd. On Jul 8 several MPs told Johnson Taliban would take large parts of country. On July 14 Taliban seized all major border crossing into neighbouring states. On July 21, the US said Taliban had half the country.

"But you only changed the travel advice on August 6."

Raab says that;s not quite right. They changed it in April then toughened it up in August.

Bryant interrogating like a man wielding a knife: "On August 11th US said Taliban were likely to seize the whole country. Were you already on holiday?"

Raab waffle on assessments.

Bryant: "You didn't answer my question. Were you already on holiday on August 11th?"

Raab: "I've given a full statement on my holiday. I've said I wouldn't have gone away with the benefit of hindsight which is the luxury of commentators."

It's almost line for line what he told Radiop 4. Barely deviates from the script. I suspect he's learned it by rote.

Bryant: "Can you just give us the facts?"

Raab: "I'm not going to start adding to frankly the fishing expedition beyond the facts I've articulated in a fullsome statement. I would just make the broader point..."

Bryant: "No. I'm sorry Mr Raab, the problem here is that... the PM was on holiday, the deputy PM, yourself, was on holiday and as I understand it the permanent undersecretary was on holiday. All three at the same time."

"When British nationals were at risk. Many people - thousands of people by your own estimation, who stood by us in a difficult time in Afghanistan were in peril of their lives. And there was still not a proper crisis centre up in place."

"Do you not see that it's important for British people to understand why you thought it was right to go on holiday?"

Raab: "No. Sorry. I'm afraid I don't agree with that analysis."

He says a modern foreign secretary must be able to deal with work from abroad. Oh good. The Zoom defence.

Raab: "Judge us by the results." Quite incredible. That is precisely what you are being judged on. Is this the good version of events? What does the bad one look like?

Bryant seizes on it. How many people does he think we got out - UK nationals and families, people who qualify by working for the UK and vulnerable people?

Raab says he got out the "overwhelming majority" of nationals...

Tugendhat interrupts: "I thought you weren't confident with numbers."

Raab: "Sorry. Um. Um. I've given you the number."

Tugendhat: "You also said you weren't confident of the numbers."

Raab: "I'm not confident in the numbers remaining but we think they'#d be in the low hundreds."

Bryant tag teaming with Tugendhat now. "What do you mean by low hundreds," he asks. "Do you mean 110 sort of area or 300, 400?"

Raab: "They will be in low hundreds. I'm very reticent about giving a firm figure precisely because we don't know."

Bryant: "So somewhere between 100 and 500 UK nationals."

Christ alive what a shitshow.

Raab says the problem is there were "complex cases" where families had some with members who could not demonstrate their nationality.

And what an extraordinary thing to say that is. Because of course they could decide to simply evacuate people, fuck the paper work and do it later. Prioritise protection over bureaucracy. But they didn't.

Bryant: "You'e had three separate channels. Every Mp has had individuals coming to constituency surgery desperate about family members in Afghanistan. Why is there no triage system? Why have three separate departments?"

Raab answers by basically going over the three categories again.

Bryant: "Can you see that might seem to the people experiencing it like the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. And departmentalitice writ large. And people being treated as numbers."

Raab then says the quiet bit out loud. He doesn't want to "open the door and say we;re going to have an unstructured approach to this". That, he says, "if I took what you're saying to its logical conclusion, would undermine public confidence in the system".

SO that;s it said and clear. They would not waive the paperwork until were in the UK. And why? T satisfy the public's perceived suspicion of refugees.

Bryant: "Have you put a number on how many people you think we have left behind?"

Raab, quick off the mark as ever: "You're asking the same question a different way."

Bryant: "The PM said the overwhelming majority of the people who stood by us are out. But if you;re not confident of the numbers how can he possibly know?"

Raab, incredibly: "I'm not confident with precision to give you a set number but I cam confident the Pm is right that we got the overwhelming number out."

Tugendhat extremely cutting with every remark. "I know you;re going to go to the region. I know this isn't the time to be making best friends. It would have been great to have them earlier. Is this your first trip to Pakistan?"

Raab: "I've been to Pakistan before." Amazing. We don't care about your holidays mate.

Tugendhat: "As foreign secretary?

Raab: "No not as foreign secretary." He blames covid.

Kearns again. How many foreign office staff were on the ground? "The issue was not planes, it was processing."

Why wasn't processing quicker.

Mock ignorance from Raab. "I'm sorry Lucia, I want to answer your question fully. Now we clearly don't."

Kearns: "At the time of the processing How many Foriegn Office staff?"

Raab: "We peaked at 20."

Labour' MP Neil Coyle. "We ended up with three govt departments running three helplines that weren't being answered and your department had an Afghan special cases email address that wasn't being opened in life or death cases."

Rabb: "I don't accept that categorisation. i'm happy to go over any of those issues."

Coyle: "Please do."

Raab: "Well I can address the email issue."

Coyle: "There are 9,000 estimated left behind. Who is taking responsibility for helplines and the email address in your department not even being opened?"

Raab: "The issue as you have a surge for the door is you have a surge of emails including late emails and requests like that."

Raab tries to talk about three types of cases again.

Raab: "Can I answer the question?"

Coyle: "You;re not answering the question.You;re going back to the question from ealier."

The Afghan guards from the British embassy in Kabul were held up due to paperwork problems. Are they here?

Raab doesn't answer but says there was a problem with the buses getting authorisation.

Coyle: "They were held up due to paperwork.

Raab: "That's not true."

Coyle: "You can't say whether they're here or not. You can't answer the question so allow me to move on."

Raab: "Neil. Neil. Neil. Neil. You can browbeat me all you like..."

Coyle: "You not answering the question foreign secretary so let's move on."

"Lord Dannatt said you were asleep at the helm. Do you owe those Afghan nationals and those British troops an apology for the circumstances they have faced?"

Raab: We owe them every effort to get those out we did and now to focus on the new reality in Afghanistan."

Coyle: "No apology has been heard."

"You promised the portrait of Her Majesty would not be left in the British embassy. So what went so badly wrong?"

Raab: "My understand was that was destroyed. Are you saying it wasn't?"

Tugendhat: "There's photographs of Talibs with a portrait of the Queen."

Raab: "Right."

SNP defense spokesperson Stewart McDonald. Who did you speak to on August 6th when a province fell?

Raab: "The reality was that at all these points the critical thing was to be engaged with our allies..." etc. You get the picture. Like drowning in custard.

Literally minutes of waffle pass.

McDonald: "10th of August a new border rcossing opens up for the Taliban to Iran. Had you talked to the British ambassador to Iran at that point?"

Raab: "So all the military operations on the ground of course I was updated on."

McDonald: "I'm guessing you didn't. You hadn't spoken to HM government representatives in those capitals."

Raab: That's nonsense."

McDonald: "So tell me when you talked to them?

Raab: "What you're saying is not correct because we constantly have the feedback and advice coming back..." etc etc.

Quite genuinely I'm unsure he's answered a single question.

McDonald: "When did you go on holiday? What dates did you go on holiday?"

He literally won't even answer that.

Raab: "Look, I made a full statement..."

McDonald: "What date did you go on holiday foreign secretary?"

Raab: "I made a full statement of it."

McDonald: "Did the statement include the date you left the country?"

Raab: "... at all material times..."

McDonald: "It's important we can map out - we have UK personnel in harms way. it;s important to know what you were doing and where you were doing it from. When did you go on holiday?"

Raab: "And at all material times..."

McDonald: "When did you go on holiday?"

Raab: "What I've said to you..."

"McDonald: "We're getting nowhere with this."

OK, I've slipped too far behind on the video and I really need to file some copy, so have to leave that there. But I don't think there's much reason to stay on anyway. If something meaningful came out of that man's mouth he'd be so shocked he'd slap his own face off.

Will have a column up on this soon and will be discussing it on OGWN, which we'll record later.

Dominic Raab lets his guard down and reveals the moral abyss in the government's Afghanistan strategy

inews.co.uk/opinion/domini…