Row over who gave green light to evacuate animals from Afghanistan sinks further into chaos as top Foreign Office civil servant is forced to apologise for ‘inadvertently’ misleading them over Nowzad emails
- Sir Philip Barton has apologised to MPs after ‘inadvertently’ misleading them
- Apology relates to the row over the evacuation of animals from Afghanistan
- Boris Johnson has been accused of authorising evacuation but has denied it
The top civil servant in the Foreign Office has apologised to MPs for ‘inadvertently’ misleading them over the row about the evacuation of animals from Afghanistan.
Sir Philip Barton told the Foreign Affairs Select Committee that Nigel Casey, the PM’s special representative for Afghanistan, had not received any correspondence referring to Boris Johnson allegedly intervening in the Nowzad case.
But emails revealed by the BBC’s Newsnight programme showed Mr Casey asked an official ‘to seek clear guidance for us from No 10 asap on what they would like us to do’ in the case.
Sir Philip, the Foreign Office’s permanent under-secretary, has now written to the committee’s chairman, Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, to apologise for having given ‘inadvertently inaccurate answers’.
However, he said that ‘on the day the email was sent, Nigel was almost entirely focused, in his role as Gold in our crisis response, on the terrorist threat to the evacuation’.
Mr Johnson has denied claims he personally authorised the evacuation of animals being looked after by the Nowzad charity, labelling the allegation ‘total rhubarb’, as the row over who gave the airlift the green light continues to rumble on.
Sir Philip Barton (pictured) told the Foreign Affairs Select Committee that Nigel Casey, the PM’s special representative for Afghanistan, had not received any correspondence referring to Boris Johnson allegedly intervening in the Nowzad case
But emails revealed by the BBC’s Newsnight programme showed Mr Casey (pictured meeting a Taliban representative in Oslo, Norway, on January 24) asked an official ‘to seek clear guidance for us from No 10 asap on what they would like us to do’ in the case
Mr Johnson has denied claims he personally authorised the evacuation of animals being looked after by the Nowzad charity, labelling the allegation ‘total rhubarb’, as the row over who gave the airlift the green light continues to rumble on
Sir Philip, who previously came under fire for remaining on holiday after Kabul fell in August last year, wrote to Mr Tugendhat on January 17 to answer a series of questions relating to the UK’s exit from Afghanistan.
On the Nowzad evacuation, he was asked: ‘Do you, Sir Philip, have any reason to believe that there was support for this decision in No. 10, or from the Prime Minister? Do you have any reason to believe that FCDO staff attributed this decision to the Prime Minister?’
He replied: ‘I am not aware of that, beyond speculation in the public domain.’
He was then asked ‘did Nigel Casey receive any correspondence referring to the Prime Minister’s intervention in the Nowzad case’ and he replied ‘no’.
However, in a letter sent to Mr Tugendhat on January 27 and published by the committee today, Sir Philip said: ‘With reference to my answers to questions 33-35 and having now seen the published version of the email the Committee asked Nigel Casey about at the end of the evidence session on 25 January, I am writing to apologise for the inadvertently inaccurate answers given to these questions.
‘On the day the email was sent, Nigel was almost entirely focused, in his role as Gold in our crisis response, on the terrorist threat to the evacuation, which led to our changing our Travel Advice that evening to warn British nationals to move away from the airport.
‘As Nigel said to the Committee on 25 January, he has no recollection of having seen emails in which staff attributed this decision to the Prime Minister. Nor do I.
‘I would be grateful if you would pass on my and Nigel’s apologies to your colleagues on the Committee for this mistake.’
The admission is the latest controversy in the saga surrounding the evacuation of animals looked after by the Nowzad charity – set up by former marine Paul ‘Pen’ Farthing – from Kabul last year.
Mr Johnson has denied intervening to get the animals out of the country but he has been accused of lying after leaked correspondence suggested the involvement of Number 10.
Downing Street has repeatedly denied intervening in any individual cases in the final days of the mission as thousands of people who sought to flee the Taliban were left behind.
But an email shared with a Commons inquiry showed a Foreign Office official saying in August that the Prime Minister had just ‘authorised’ the animals’ rescue.
And the BBC reported another email from the same day saying then-foreign secretary Dominic Raab was ‘seeking a steer from No 10 on whether’ to call Nowzad staff forward.
BBC Newsnight’s Sima Kotecha obtained an email from an official to Mr Raab at the time discussing Nowzad staff being called forward for evacuation.
The Prime Minister has denied intervening to allow Paul ‘Pen’ Farthing and members of his Nowzad charity to flee Kabul at the expense of locals as the extremists closed in last summer
‘The FS is seeking a steer from No 10 on whether to call them forward now,’ it read.
Another email from Mr Casey showed him asking a security official ‘to seek clear guidance for us from No 10 asap on what they would like us to do’.
Allies of Mr Johnson have tried to downplay the row, with Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg dismissing calls for a debate as ‘fussing about a few animals’.
Downing Street has argued that officials were mistaken in suggesting the PM had ‘authorised’ the evacuation.
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said: ‘It’s not uncommon in Whitehall for a decision to be interpreted or portrayed as coming directly from the Prime Minister even when that’s not the case, and it’s our understanding that’s what happened in this instance.
‘We appreciate it was a frenetic time for those officials dealing with this situation.’
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