The deteriorating and desperate situation in Afghanistan is a failure of Western policy and intelligence. American forces represented the lion’s share of boots on the ground and sadly without them, our position was not remotely sustainable.
At the time of writing, British armed forces continue to provide protection and support to evacuating UK Nationals and Afghan staff, interpreters and their families.

Every possible effort is being made to protect the air link out of the country. UK government staff are working hard under extreme pressure. I am grateful to constituents who have contacted me to highlight specific individuals in the country and I’m in touch with Foreign Office and Home Office officials to progress their evacuation as quickly as possible.

The government is launching a new Afghanistan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme to resettle thousands of people from Afghanistan. This new route is modelled on the successful Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, which resettled 20,000 Syrian refugees over a seven-year period from 2014 to 2021, including several families in East Devon.

The Prime Minister has made it clear that there’s no hard cap on numbers within the first year and we aim to resettle 20,000 people from Afghanistan over the next few years. Given our existing housing crisis, I consider this a generous offer. We must only offer hope of a new life if we can provide it, especially in East Devon. I was really pleased to receive emails from several constituents offering housing to refugees from Afghanistan. I have always known that we are an incredibly generous and kind community and I’ll continue to support these compassionate offers of help.

I am also aware of the specific case of former Royal Marine Commando Pen Farthing from the animal welfare charity Nowzad which has a base in Tiverton. Neil Parish MP has been raising the case with officials as the MP for Tiverton & Honiton and I fully support his efforts.

Over the last 20 years of deployment in Afghanistan, there have been 457 deaths of UK armed forces personnel. A decade ago, Royal Marine battalion 40 Commando lost 14 men in just 85 days in the bloodiest period of fighting the Taliban.

The Royal Marines have their roots in the Commando Training Centre in Lympstone and recent events may have had a profound impact on all veterans and their families who have links with or have settled in East Devon. I would encourage any who are struggling to seek the support they need. Details are available via gov.uk/government/news/support-for-veterans.

It would be completely remiss of me to pretend to understand what our troops went through during the conflict or the emotions they are going through now. But please know that in seeking support there are those out there who do – who understand the armed forces community and military way of life.

It is incumbent on all of us to reflect both on the ultimate sacrifice made by British troops. The incredible efforts by our brave troops promoted stability in a country deeply divided.