The British government admitted on Friday August 27 that it had made a mistake during the evacuation of its embassy in Kabul, after a
Times
reporter
found on the ground the personal information of several Afghan employees potentially in danger of reprisals.
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While accompanying a Taliban patrol, the journalist found on the ground, near "
the ashes of a barbecue in an embassy courtyard
" the "
names, addresses and telephone numbers
" of Afghan employees, but also of candidates specifying having previously worked for Western forces.
Contacted by The
Times
using their contact details found on the ground in mid-August, some people had since been evacuated from the country, but at least "
three Afghan employees and eight relatives, including five children
" were still stranded outside. the airport responsible for departures.
They have since been found and evacuated, but the fate of two candidates remains unknown.
An episode which according to the newspaper reveals the profound "
lack of professionalism
" characteristic of the "
British response to the Afghan crisis
".
An investigation launched
The British Foreign Office admitted to having made a mistake, even though it claims to have "
worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of those who worked for (him)
". "
During the withdrawal of our embassy, all efforts were made to destroy sensitive material
," assured a spokesperson. "
We are going to shed light on this affair,
" promised Defense Minister Ben Wallace. "
It is clear that we weren't good enough, it's that simple
." "
The Prime Minister is going to ask questions, we have to understand, and rightly so, how it happened
," he added.
Read alsoAmericans and British redeploy troops to Afghanistan to evacuate their nationals
The parliamentary committee in charge of Foreign Affairs has announced that it is launching an investigation.
"
Some evidence has already reached us,
" said its president, Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat.
"
The destruction of sensitive materials and the safe evacuation of the embassy should have been a top priority,
" opposition Labor MP Lisa Nandy said, saying "
this incident raised questions about what precisely was doing the government in the hours leading up to the fall of Kabul
”.