shadow foreign secretary lisa nandy.sa nandy�*s letter, a spokesperson for the foreign, commonwealth and development office said: today, one of the taliban's most prominent leaders, abdul ghani baradar, returned to afghanistan after years in exile. what do we know about him? well, he was one of the four men who founded the taliban back in 1994, and became a lynchpin of the insurgency after the taliban were toppled by the us—led invasion in 2001. then in 2010 he was captured in a joint us—pakistani raid. but he was released in 2018. it was hoped he would encourage the taliban to engage in peace talks with them. fast forward two years and he signs a deal — not with the afghan government, but with the trump administration. it culminates in the withdrawal of us troops. we know what happens next. the taliban quickly take control of afghanistan. and then, after years in exile, he's finally able to return to the country. the chairman of afghanistan's high council for national reconciliation, abdullah abdullah, has been taking p

lisa nandy has published a letter she's written to the foreign secretary dominic raab. in it she urges the government to step up the evacuation efforts from afghanistan — and says there are safety concerns for people trying to leave the country. earlier my colleague ben boulos spoke to her. my office is in touch with hundreds of people at the moment, many of them filtered through labour mps but also coming directly to me through my inbox, through whatsapp, through friends in afghanistan. raising many of the issues that your report hasjust put out there. you know, the fact that people are being beaten, shot at, turned back at checkpoints. the fact that people are being asked to carry documentation that links them to the united kingdom in order to prove their eligibility but that is the documentation that makes them a target for the taliban who are checking those documents en route. there are no safe corridors to the airport, there are makeshift camps that have sprung up where people are being beaten, and even reports of rapes. and so i've been asking the government today

lisa nandy has published a letter she's written to the foreign secretary dominic raab.

lisa nandy, labour shadow foreign secretary, thank you very much for joining us.tan. give us a sense of the mood in kabul. it has been a mood of confusion and fear today, as you have been reporting. the taliban have moved ever closer to the centre of the city. a report from a taliban spokesman saying, giving instructions to fighters, not to cross the city gates. it seems there were some incidents of shooting, bullets being fired around the city. much of it gave rise to a sense of panic. some of that seems to have been not carried out by the taliban, but by members or politically influential families who are trying to get themselves into secure positions. that has added to the sense of pandemonium. in the past few days, a run on the banks, people trying to take out their savings, not sure what will happen. there are two real concerns people have. one, of course, what life would be like under some kind of taliban interim government if that is what emerges here. and the other more immediate concern for people, will there be a fierce, deadly, protracted, bloody fight

in response to lisa nandy�*s letter, a spokesperson for the foreign, office said...n, and called on european countries to take responsibility. greece has also built a new 25—mile fence and surveillance system along its border with turkey. the greek government says it won't wait passively, for the possible impact of a refugee crisis, following the taliban takeover. a state of emergency has been declared in parts of new york state ahead of the forecast arrival of hurricane henri. new york's governor, andrew cuomo said he had spoken to president biden who agreed to the declaration, which will release funds before the hurricane makes landfall on sunday. mr cuomo said heavy rain, flooding and power cuts should be expected. the freelance journalist daphne tolis is in athens. iam going i am going to declare a state of emergency declaration for island, new york city, westchester, hudson valley and the capital district region. we are working with power companies, i have told them clearly and convincingly in my opinion that this is what we pay the power companies to do, to be

lisa nandy, shadow foreign secreta , urgently.nk you _ urgently. lisa nandy, shadow foreign secretary, thank you very _ urgently. lisa nandy, shadow foreign secretary, thank you very much - urgently. lisa nandy, shadow foreign secretary, thank you very much for i secretary, thank you very much for your time today. i'm joined now by elay ershad, a former member of the afghanistan parliament. she's in kabul. thank you for your time. you have decided to stay there, other politicians have not. why have you decided to stay? i politicians have not. why have you decided to stay?— decided to stay? i think other politicians — decided to stay? i think other politicians were _ decided to stay? i think other politicians were corrupt, - decided to stay? i think other politicians were corrupt, they i decided to stay? i think other- politicians were corrupt, they made mistakes and could not face their people because people honestly voted for them and campaigned for them and now the leaders betrayed us, including some of the mps, including some o

let's speak to the shadow foreign secretary lisa nandy — who this evening has published a letter she'sreign secretary — asking his to urgently step up the evacuation efforts from afghanistan. good to have you with us. what more specifically would you like to see the foreign secretary do? well, my office is in touch with hundreds of people at the moment many coming directly to me to my inbox and what's up and friends in afghanistan, raising many of the issues that your report is put out there. the fact that people are being beaten, shot at and it checkpoints people are being asked to carry documentation that links them to the united kingdom in order to prove their eligibility that is documentation that makes them a target for the child evaluate checking those documents. their makeshift camps that have sprung up by people are being beaten even reports of rapes. i have been asking the government today to step up those efforts and work with allies to see if we can open up a safe corridor. the united states has done that and it may be possible for us to get our people safe passage through.

lisa nandy, labour shadow foreign secretary, was saying in conversation she has been having with pakistanirather negative. i think we will have to see how it pans out over the coming weeks and months. i don't think anyone is pretending it is going to be easy to get these people out. speaking of conversation, what about conversations with the taliban? the us national security adviser doing an interview with cbs news today saying that the taliban have communicated privately and publicly with the us that they will allow for safe passage of americans and others wishing to leave afghanistan. what sort of contacts have been developed between the uk and the taliban to that end, to get more people out? what seems to be the message is that there will be engagement with the taliban but it will be conditional, as we were just hearing from the prime minister, conditional on things like the situation with women and girls, whether their rights are upheld, conditional in terms of what money is provided to afghanistan in terms of humanitarian aid as well. they want to make sure that gets through. borisjoh

overnight in response to the observer story that lisa nandy mentioned about and opened e—mails, the governmentg tirelessly on this issue but i think one of the key questions ministers will now be pressed on over the coming day is what relationships have been established, what agreements if any have been established with countries bordering afghanistan in order to try to establish them sort of safe route out of afghanistan for those who still fear for their safety and desperately want to leave. what the government has said is it will work with international partners, it has labour's it can pull with the taliban for example to try to get —— levers, to pull. downing street have released a video of borisjohnson. we has asked if we can put our own questions to the prime minister but borisjohnson talks questions to the prime minister but boris johnson talks about questions to the prime minister but borisjohnson talks about the questions to the prime minister but boris johnson talks about the fact the uk government and others will now be engaging with the taliban. not on the basis of what they say bu

a little earlier, i spoke to the uk's shadow foreign secretary, labour's lisa nandy — she told me thaternment appeared to have been completely unprepared for the speed of events as they unfolded in afghanistan but that her real concern is now for the potentially thousands of people left behind. there are many people that i have been incompetent, contact with over the last few days —— that i have beenin the last few days —— that i have been in contact with over the last few days that are stranded. as well as hundreds of people who have been trying to make their way to the border and get across, particularly the border with pakistan. when i spoke to the pakistani government in the last couple of days, there was an element of pessimism about how much pakistan is going to be able to do. they have got 3 million afghan refugees already in the country and i think many of those regional partners are looking at the uk, but priti patel said that they going to cap the number of refugees that we are going to accept, around 5000 in the year. they are thinking how can we do it when your commitment i

labour's lisa nandy there.ore acting as a us representative in talks with the taliban in 2012. he has been speaking about the current situation there. it feels very frustrating, quite frankly, to have spent a lot of time on the ground in afghanistan, both in eastern afghanistan as a commander and then later as a senior adviser, as a senior adviser, and then time there consulting for non—governmental organisations, supporting them. we have all put a lot of energy and a lot of heart and soul into afghanistan and none of us would have imagined leaving the way the united states reportedly left, sort of in the middle of night, slinking away at bagram. it is frustrating, it is embarrassing and we certainly believe that we would leave afghanistan in a much better condition than it is now. unforced errors led us on this path. the face of the afghan government too many predatory and. ..government. i remember talking to some elders and they looked at me, said, who do you support? they looked at me and said, we are not on

lisa nandy.led roads, i mean, you wouldn't do that unless you are desperate and he's doing it because he is looking for a way out and dine, you will understand i spent a bit of a sleepless night this evening or rather last night and i am very glad that he has checked in this morning and i am also very glad that through the night for the novice and home of the night for the novice and home of the staff have been working absolutely flat out and have secured him, quite rightly, the permission to come to the uk. he is one of the people who has quite literally risked his life working with us and so i am delighted that he has now got permission to come. he has still got, obviously, this is a long way from being over and i must say i am a bit more relieved than i was last time. lord dannatt was was head of the british army between 2006 and 2009. hejoins me now. thank you forjoining us. would you like to see that deadline extended in the face of what the taliban obviously says about it being a red line a

we have already had labour shadow foreign secretary lisa nandy saying that his storyjust secretary lisaes secretary lisa nandy saying that his storyjust does not add up. there is still the big question that if dominic raab knew how bad the situation in afghanistan was coming last friday when these calls were supposed to be made, but he decided to prioritise the airport instead, why did it take another three days to get back to the uk? it was not until monday this week that the foreign secretary made his way back to whitehall. the other thing that this does is just add to the questions about whether the government was prepared for this. we know that ministers say that everyone was surprised by the speed at which the taliban took over afghanistan, but the perhaps more pertinent question at the moment is that they act quickly enough to do with follow the emerging situations after the speed of the taliban march became clear? the government is continuing to insist that it did and the cobra meeting this afternoon is another opportunity borisjohnson another opportunity boris johnson hopes anot

let's speak now with the shadow foreign secretary, lisa nandy. good afternoon.very disturbing and deteriorating. you are calling for parliament to potentially be recalled, why? i parliament to potentially be recalled, why?— parliament to potentially be recalled, why? i think the most important _ recalled, why? i think the most important thing _ recalled, why? i think the most important thing is _ recalled, why? i think the most important thing is the - recalled, why? i think the most important thing is the prime i important thing is the prime minister and foreign secretary step up minister and foreign secretary step up and start to show they have a strategy to deal with what the government has admitted as a disaster, a humanitarian crisis, a tragedy that is evolving in front of her eyes and whilst we have heard a little from the home secretary about potentially belatedly setting up some safe routes for people in afghanistan to come to the uk, we have heard from the defence secretary about getting bitten safely out of afghanistan, what is missing is an actual str

lisa nandy saying this was a moment of unparalleled shame for the uk. they had it supported the treatment —— withdrawal of troops. supported the treatment -- withdrawal of troops. things very much. i withdrawal of troops. things very much- i will— withdrawal of troops. things very much. i will be _ withdrawal of troops. things very much. i will be talking _ withdrawal of troops. things very much. i will be talking in - withdrawal of troops. things very much. i will be talking in the - withdrawal of troops. things very | much. i will be talking in the next few minutes to lord dubs to talk about the numbers of refugees will be accepted in this country. let's bring you up—to—date what is happening on the ground. british and international troops are... the aim is to bring a thousand people a day at the moment. it comes as the taliban leaders returned to afghanistan where many of them have beenin afghanistan where many of them have been in exile for some years. this report is from paul adams, but i do want to warn you it contains some scenes that you may wel

that question was brought up yes, and that question was brought up by the likes of tom tugendhat, lisa nandynot uk nationals, who have supported the uk in the past two decades and who have been integral and now need supporting as a matter of urgency over the next few days. that is a point she made today, and i imagine a point that will come up on wednesday and beyond that. to hear someone like tobias ellwood say today that this could be a humanitarian disaster and in terms of what this will mean for refugees, how this will impact countries around the world, again something mps here in the uk, but across the world, policy makers across the world, policy makers across the world will be trying to grapple with it right now. world will be trying to grapple with it right now-— a reminder of the major developments in afghanistan. taliban militants say they are now entering teh capital kabul after a lightning advance across the country. the president ashraf ghani has left afghanistan and the taliban look set to take some form of control within days. roads out of kabul have been packed with people fl

that is something also that the labour party and shadow foreign secretary lisa nandy has been sayingme influence to bear on the taliban. she said this is an important moment. borisjohnson chairing the g7, to try to get a common approach. the air bridge is about to close, on the 31st _ the air bridge is about to close, on the 31st of— the air bridge is about to close, on the 31st of august, and my office is in touch— the 31st of august, and my office is in touch with hundreds of people still stuck— in touch with hundreds of people still stuck in afghanistan who are eligible _ still stuck in afghanistan who are eligible to come out on uk flights but simply cannot get onto them for lots of— but simply cannot get onto them for lots of different reasons, so we have _ lots of different reasons, so we have got — lots of different reasons, so we have got to get an agreement at the g7 have got to get an agreement at the 67 today— have got to get an agreement at the g7 today that will make a common approach _ g7 today that will make a common approach to the taliban to extend that deadline, and

these are issues that lisa nandy has also raised this weekend directly with the foreign secretary. and practical measures for what comes next. ,, ., ., ., . , ., ., next. seema malhotra in west london, thank ou next. seema malhotra in west london, thank you for— next. seema malhotra in west london, thank you for being _ next. seema malhotra in west london, thank you for being with _ next. seema malhotra in west london, thank you for being with us _ next. seema malhotra in west london, thank you for being with us on - next. seema malhotra in west london, thank you for being with us on bbc- thank you for being with us on bbc news. . ~ thank you for being with us on bbc news. ., ,, , ., a man has been found guilty of murdering his estranged wife, who he set fire to after dousing her in petrol at her home in north west london. damion simmons killed denise keane—simmons in april of last year. our correpsondent sanchia berg is at the old bailey for us. this sounds a really horrible case. yes, and when the verdict came in members of denise keane—simmons' the family gasped and sobbed, and

we're joined now by the shadow foreign secretary, lisa nandy.big moment, this is the 11th hour. the air bridge is about to close, on the 31st, and my office is in touch with hundreds of people still stuck in afghanistan who are eligible to come out on uk flights but cannot get onto them for different reasons. we have to get an agreement at the g7 today to make a common approach to the taliban to extend the deadline and that relies on us support. it really does matter. there are few other options and the reality is unless we get the agreement at the g7 today, many will be left behind and face reprisals from the taliban. the be left behind and face reprisals from the taliban.— be left behind and face reprisals from the taliban. the pressure is on. you from the taliban. the pressure is on- you have _ from the taliban. the pressure is on. you have the _ from the taliban. the pressure is on. you have the taliban - from the taliban. the pressure is on. you have the taliban saying i from the taliban. the pressure is | on. you have the taliban saying it

let's talk to the shadow foreign secretary lisa nandy.everyone is thinking about. i think so, also the movin: thinking about. i think so, also the moving report _ thinking about. i think so, also the moving report you _ thinking about. i think so, also the moving report you had _ thinking about. i think so, also the moving report you had with - thinking about. i think so, also the moving report you had with the i moving report you had with the family who have been bereaved, lost a loved one in afghanistan, you will hear a lot of that in the house of commons today with a number of mps who served in afghanistan on both benches and you will hear more about that and why it matters personally to mps and why it matters to constituents. what we will press the government to do is to come forward notjust with government to do is to come forward not just with aspirations government to do is to come forward notjust with aspirations of government to do is to come forward not just with aspirations of what they hope to do next, but a strategy about how