Boris Johnson stands accused of lying after bombshell emails revealed he did personally intervene to get animals and staff from a charity airlifted out of Afghanistan after the Taliban took Kabul.
The Prime Minister said at the time it was "complete nonsense" the Government stepped in to help Paul 'Pen' Farthing and members of his Nowzad charity flee Afghanistan.
The Government was accused of putting animals before people after Mr Farthing was able to evacuate 173 cats and dogs from the country in August using a plane funded by donations from a high profile campaign.
The PM rejected claims he had intervened and Downing Street said it was "entirely untrue".
But new evidence from a whistleblower, published by the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, contradicts the PM's repeated denials about the ex-marine's charity.
An email from an official in Lord Goldsmith's office to the special cases team on August 25 2021 said another charity was seeking help to get their staff out.
It stated: "Equivalent charity Nowzad, run by an ex-Royal Marine, has received a lot of publicity and the PM has just authorised their staff and animals to be evacuated, [animal charity – name redacted] are hoping to be treated in the same capacity."
Another email sent between Foreign Office officials that day, said: “In light of the PM’s decision earlier today to evacuate the staff of the Nowzad animal charity, the [animal charity – name redacted] is asking for agreement to the entry of [details redacted] staff, all Afghan nationals."
The emails cast fresh doubt on Mr Johnson's integrity as Downing Street is braced for senior civil servant Sue Gray's report into rule-busting parties at No10.
The latest messages were released by the Commons Foreign Affair Committee, which has been conducting an inquiry into the chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan last year.
Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey said: "Once again, the Prime Minister has been caught out lying about what he has been doing and deciding.
"He should never have given priority to flying animals out of Afghanistan while Afghans who worked for our armed forces were left behind.
"Boris Johnson is unable to make the serious decisions that are needed, at home and for our allies abroad.
"In this case people were fleeing in terror as the Taliban took over Kabul and British Forces were putting their lives at risk, the Prime Minister was once again prioritising the wrong things and making the wrong calls.
"We need to know why the PM overruled the Defence Secretary with this decision.“
Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi tweeted: "Clear involvement of the PM in the evacuation of Nowzad despite a previous denial of interference. Another lie."
Labour former minister Chris Bryant raised the issue in the Commons.
"How can I get to the bottom of who is telling the truth," he demanded.
Today, Downing Street distanced Mr Johnson from involvement in the decision.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "It remains the case that the PM didn't instruct officials to take any particular course of action."
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace insisted that he was never told to "evacuate Pen Farthing, his workforce or his pets" from Afghanistan.
In a statement, Mr Wallace said: "As I made clear at the time, we were not going to put pets before people and as the actions showed, Pen Farthing left last and his workforce had to leave after the evacuation was concluded via other means.
"The evacuation was a Ministry of Defence led operation, supported by application processing by the Home Office and FCDO. The idea that an environment minister and his officials had any authority or responsibility in the running of the evacuation is ludicrous.
"I am however aware of false claims made throughout by Nowzad that led to considerable distress and distraction to those trying to save lives in very difficult circumstances."
Lord Goldsmith issued a fresh denial of claims about the evacuation, saying on Twitter: "I did not authorise & do not support anything that would have put animals’ lives ahead of peoples’.
"My position, which I made clear publicly, was that the UK should prioritise evacuating people. I never discussed the NOWZAD charity or their efforts to evacuate animals with the PM."
Mr Farthing submitted a five-page statement defending his actions to the committee, saying the animals were transported in the hold of the plane which is not safe for humans.
He said the charity had offered seats on the plane to British evacuees but their offer was turned down by the Government.
Mr Farthing said: "The tremendous teamwork shown by many volunteers to facilitate the evacuation of the Nowzad staff and their families, myself and the animals should be applauded not used as a deflection for failings across the board in Afghanistan."
Allied forces were caught out by the speed of the Taliban takeover last August, prompting a chaotic mass evacuation of Afghans fearing for their safety.
Mr Marshall, who worked during the evacuation effort, known as Operation Pitting, branded the Foreign Office response "dysfunctional" and "chaotic".
The-then Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab came under serious criticism for failing to return from his family holiday in Crete immediately when Kabul fell.
Permanent secretary Sir Philip Barton also revealed to MPs he stayed on holiday for nearly two weeks after the Taliban seized control of the Afghan capital.
In December, he told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee: “If I had my time again I would have come back from my leave earlier than I did.”
