Dominic Raab was 'too busy' on holiday to help brave translators: As Kabul airport descends into hellish anarchy, damning admission over Foreign Secretary's missed call

Dominic Raab failed to make a crucial phone call while he was on holiday to seek urgent help airlifting translators out of Afghanistan, the Mail can reveal

Dominic Raab failed to make a crucial phone call while he was on holiday to seek urgent help airlifting translators out of Afghanistan, the Mail can reveal.

Senior officials in the Foreign Secretary's department advised last Friday that he should make immediate contact with Afghan foreign minister Hanif Atmar as the Taliban advanced on Kabul.

The officials said Mr Raab, who was on a luxury break with his family in Crete, needed to urgently request assistance in rescuing interpreters who had worked for the British military. They said it was important the call was made by him rather than a junior minister.

But Mr Raab did not make the call. Officials were told he was unavailable and that Lord Goldsmith, the Foreign Office minister on duty, should speak to Mr Atmar instead.

The Foreign Office said last night: 'The Foreign Secretary was engaged on a range of other calls and this one was delegated to another minister.'

However, the Afghan foreign ministry refused to set up an immediate call between Mr Atmar and a junior minister who was not his direct counterpart. As a result, they did not speak until at least the next day, with crucial time lost before the Taliban seized control of Kabul on Sunday.

The revelation is likely to reignite the controversy over Mr Raab's handling of the crisis. In a fiery Commons debate yesterday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer aimed a barb at the Foreign Secretary, saying: 'I wouldn't stay on holiday while Kabul was falling.'

It came as the situation in Kabul appeared to dramatically worsen, with chaotic scenes in and around the airport that is now the only route out of the country.

Many Afghan translators who worked with UK troops are trapped in the capital and unable to reach the airfield as they fear being uncovered at Taliban checkpoints. With crowds besieging the airport's perimeter, and the Taliban in control of the city, it is unclear how long order will last.

On a dramatic day:

The Amirandes Hotel in Crete, Greece. Senior officials in the Foreign Secretary's department advised last Friday that he should make immediate contact with Afghan foreign minister Hanif Atmar as the Taliban advanced on Kabul

Afghanistan's foreign minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar speaks during a press conference at the ministry of foreign affairs in Kabul, on August 3, 2021

Pictured: Women filmed pleading with US troops that the 'Taliban are coming' in footage that appeared to have been taken at Kabul airport

The fall of the Afghan government has left thousands of British citizens, Afghan interpreters and their families stranded in Kabul in a desperate situation awaiting mercy flights back to the UK.

Mr Raab has faced fierce criticism after it emerged that he was on holiday while the Taliban completed their stunning takeover.

The Foreign Secretary has insisted he was engaged while abroad and could direct Foreign Office operations while out of the country.

But the Mail can reveal that he did not personally make a call on Friday that officials said would assist with the evacuation of Afghan translators. Foreign Office officials said Mr Raab needed to request assistance from the Afghan government with getting interpreters who had worked for the British military out of the country.

Officials suggested he ask Mr Atmar to allow Afghans to get on flights without passports and visas so they could flee quickly.

The officials said the British Embassy in Kabul had advised it was important the call was made by him rather than a junior minister.

Both US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin had already spoken with Mr Atmar, the advice said.

'We recommend the Foreign Secretary urgently calls the Afghan foreign minister Hanif Atmar,' the senior officials said in the message sent last Friday afternoon. But Mr Raab did not make the call.

In the Commons yesterday, Mr Raab was accused of a 'dereliction of duty'. Sir Keir taunted the Foreign Secretary as he told MPs: 'You cannot co-ordinate an international response from the beach.'

He also criticised Mr Johnson, who headed to the West Country on Saturday. 'The Prime Minister's response to the Taliban arriving at the gates of Kabul was to go on holiday,' Sir Keir said.

On Sunday, as Kabul fell to the Taliban, Mr Raab was spotted at Crete's five-star Amirandes Hotel, which describes itself as a 'sparkling boutique resort for the privileged and perceptive'.

The Foreign Secretary insisted he did not spend 'all day lounging on the beach' as the militants entered the Afghan capital.

He said he took part in a series of meetings from his hotel and went outside to see his family 'episodically'.

The Daily Mail revealed earlier this week that Mr Raab got a flight back from Crete late on Sunday night, arriving at Gatwick at 1.40am on Monday. A fellow passenger said: 'He was typing on his phone a lot and walking around looking stressed.'

'Off-guard' Foreign Secretary's Greek idyll: The luxury Crete hotel where Dominic Raab 'was staying as Taliban went on the rampage in Afghanistan'

It styles itself as a 'sparkling boutique resort for the privileged and perceptive'.

But after Dominic Raab admitted being 'caught off-guard' by the Taliban rampage, the luxury Crete hotel where he apparently stayed last week may wish to rethink the final word of its boast.

Mr Raab was spotted on Sunday at the five-star Amirandes Hotel, just before he jetted back into Britain to help deal with what has been described as the biggest foreign policy disaster since Suez.

The Foreign Secretary yesterday conceded he would not have left the UK had he known what would unfold in Afghanistan.

Mr Raab was spotted on Sunday at the five-star Amirandes Hotel in Crete

The Amirandes is situated on its own private beach in Crete

But he insisted that he did not spend 'all day lounging on the beach' as militants swept through Kabul.

He said that he took part in a series of meetings from his hotel and only went outside to see his family 'episodically'.

The Amirandes, which is situated on its own private beach, says it has 'a first-class dining scene and one of the biggest pools you'll ever see' – and is said to be 'inspired by the palaces of Minoan kings'.

Mr Raab told Sky News that he returned 'as soon as the situation deteriorated and demanded it', adding: 'Everyone was caught off-guard by the pace, scale of the Taliban takeover.'

The Mail revealed yesterday that he only got a flight back late on Sunday, arriving at Gatwick 'looking stressed' at 1.40am on Monday.

The hotel claims it has 'a first-class dining scene and one of the biggest pools you'll ever see'

Demonstrators held signs showed images of people badly injured in Afghanistan One former interpreter said that their families are in grave danger in the country He said: 'The Taliban will butcher every single one of them if they are left behind'

By Isabella Nikolic for MailOnline

Dozens of Afghan interpreters who served with the British Army are holding a protest in Parliament Square to demand more protection for desperate translators stranded in Kabul.

The protesters held banners and signs up in front of Parliament on Wednesday as MPs returned to the House of Commons after it was recalled.

Signs they held included images of people gravely injured in Afghanistan, with the caption 'Protect our loved ones'.

Afghan interpreters are now being hunted Taliban kill squads. One, referred to only as Ahmadzi for his safety, is hiding with his family after as least one assassination attempt.

He was branded a 'threat' to UK security by Home Office officials despite serving alongside British Army generals so his visa to the UK was revoked.

Protesters, who are former translators for the British Army, held banners and signs up in front of Parliament on Wednesday as MPs returned to the House of Commons after it was recalled

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick. Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o

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