Boris Johnson has described as “total rhubarb” claims he personally intervened to authorise the evacuation of dogs from Afghanistan.
Johnson has come under fresh pressure after the emergence of a leaked email suggesting the PM had “authorised” the evacuation of animals from former Royal Marine Paul “Pen” Farthing’s Nowzad charity.
The mission coincided with Operation Pitting, which saw the RAF manage to evacuate thousands of British citizens trapped in Kabul.
Asked about his involvement during a visit to Wales, the PM said: “This whole thing is total rhubarb. I was very proud of what our armed services did with Op Pitting and it was an amazing thing to move 15,000 people out of Kabul in the way that we did.”
“I thought it was additionally really good that we were able to help those vets who came out as well.”
Asked if he directly intervened in the process, Johnson replied: “Absolutely not. The military always prioritised human beings and that was quite right, and I think that we should be incredibly proud of Op Pitting and what is achieved.”
The row reignited on Wednesday when the Commons foreign affairs committee published an email in which a Foreign Office official said “the PM has just authorised” the animal evacuation.
Among the 15,000 people airlifted out of the Afghan capital last August, as the Taliban took control, were Pen Farthing, an ex-Royal Marine who runs the Nowzad animal charity and 150 animals on a chartered plane paid for by donations.
The UK government sponsored clearance for the flight leading to a row over whether animals had been prioritised over people during the rescue. effort and whether the PM intervened.
As well as the comments from the PM there has been a hot denial from Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.
On Thursday, the PM’s spokesman said he played “no role in authorizing individual evacuations from Afghanistan, including Nowzad staff and animals”.
The spokesman added: “It’s not uncommon in Whitehall for decisions to interpreted or portrayed as coming directly from the prime minster even when that’s not the case.
But 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.”
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