Image source, HoC

Former PM Theresa May asks when Boris Johnson spoke to the Secretary General of Nato to discuss putting together an alliance in order to replace the US support.

Johnson says he spoke with Nato's Jens Stoltenberg the other day but he says it is an "illusion" that there is appetite among any of the UK's partners for a "continued military presence" or military solution.

He says that ended with the combat mission in 2018.

Boris Johnson is asked about representations the UK made to the US over the planned withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

He says it's clear from what's happened that the collapse has been much faster than expected - and when it came to looking at options of withdrawal, the UK "came up against hard reality".

He outlines the US's significant role in the operation and says without the logistics and might of the Americans, the West could not have continued the mission.

The prime minister says the events in Afghanistan and the collapse "have unfolded faster than I think even the Taliban expected".

But he says it is not fair to say the government had not prepared at all.

Boris Johnson says plans to withdraw UK nationals have been under preparation for many months and the decision to commission an emergency handling centre at the airport happened two weeks ago.

Boris Johnson says it is almost 20 years since the 9/11 attacks, which led to Nato allies going into Afghanistan "to do whatever we could to stabilise Afghanistan".

Tory MP Tobias Ellwood asks if the PM will agree we are now ceding power back to the very same insurgency.

The prime minister says that "we succeeded in that core mission" and training camps in Afghanistan were destroyed.

"Plots were foiled because our servicemen and women were there," he says.

He says that no terrorist attacks have been launched on the West from Afghan soil for two decades.

The PM gives way to Conservative MP John Baron who asks for assurances that in addition to getting British nationals out of Afghanistan that all necessary resources will be given to all of those Afghans "who have helped the British council" in its work, including with the promotion of women's rights.

Boris Johnson says the government will do everything it can to support those who supported the UK mission in Afghanistan.

Image source, HoC

Boris Johnson begins the debate by saying the "sacrifice in Afghanistan is seared into our national conscious".

He says 150,000 service personnel have served there.

Image source, HoC

The House of Commons is full.

During the coronavirus pandemic MPs were able to contribute by video link but that has now ended.

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has been running through some opening proceedings.

It is confirmed that the debate will now continue until 17:00 BST

Boris Johnson is on his feet in a packed House of Commons as he begins the debate on the situation in Afghanistan.

Stick with us here for updates throughout the session.

Ministers rush to set up refugee schemepublished at 09:34 British Summer Time 18 August 2021

09:34 BST 18 August 2021

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

Ministers have been rushing to put this scheme together in response to the situation in Afghanistan, with the final details signed off on Tuesday.

The scheme will prioritise those most in need - with the government highlighting women and girls and minority groups.

Information on how to apply is expected soon.

The scheme is loosely based on the one introduced during the Syrian war, which also saw 20,000 move to the UK from 2014 to 2021.

But ministers acknowledge the practicalities of getting people out of Afghanistan will be considerably more complicated because of the extent of Taliban control.

Government insiders don't know the extent to which the new regime will allow people to flee if they so choose.

There will be funding for the resettlement programme - and the government will work with local councils and devolved governments on where to house Afghans who come to the UK.

Image source, Reuters

Prime Minister Boris Johnson left No 10 Downing Street a few moments ago to head over to the Houses of Parliament.

The debate on Afghanistan will start at 09:30 BST.

Do stay with us for full coverage.

If you're just joining us, here are some of the key points from this morning so far:

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to open a House of Commons debate on the situation in Afghanistan in the next few minutes
• We're expecting to hear from MPs over the next five hours or so, but no vote will be taken
• Home Secretary Priti Patel says an "enormous effort" is under way to evacuate people from Afghanistan, across government and also working with international partners
• Labour says it's "clear all countries are going to have to step up" but the first priority needs to be getting humanitarian aid to the Afghan people
• Chief of the UK defence staff Gen Sir Nick Carter tells the BBC "we should hold our nerve" and give the Taliban "the space to form a government and show their credentials".

A small number of supporters of the Stop the War campaign have begun to gather in Parliament Square.

The group was founded in September 2001 in protest against the war in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tweeted about the UK's plans for a resettlement scheme for Afghan refugees, ahead of the debate - which is due to begin in the Commons in about a quarter of an hour.

Image source, EPA

The SNP’s foreign affairs spokesman Alyn Smith says “Scotland stands ready to play its part in keeping people safe” as he says his party does not believe the UK government’s plans go far enough.

He tells BBC Breakfast people in Afghanistan are “in harm’s way and on Taliban lists” because they helped the UK and support has been withdrawn “without much notice”.

“There are things we need to do right now in the country to get people in to the airport and out of the airport and that means negotiating safe passage, so there’s urgent things that need to be done now but we just don’t think that this is remotely close to what is going to be needed, based on the scale of the issue,” he adds.

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey is urging the government to drastically increase the number of Afghan refugees allowed to seek sanctuary in the UK in the next year as he called for an “international effort”.

He tells BBC Breakfast: “My worry is the government only proposing to resettle 5,000 over the next year or so. The Liberal Democrats think it should be 20,000 over the next year.

"We know it's hundreds of thousands of people whose lives are at risk. Britain needs to play a part, with other countries, and we need to play a part urgently.”

Labour's shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy says the UK government must "get serious" on the crisis in Afghanistan.

She tells BBC Breakfast there needs to be a global approach, as it is "clear all countries are going to have to step up". But she says the first priority needs to be getting humanitarian aid to the Afghan people.

While she says she has not criticised the government over the withdrawal, Labour is "struggling to understand" why no evacuation plan or processing of visas for Afghans who supported the UK had been put in place.

Nandy adds that the lack of organisation has led to "chaotic scenes" at the airport in Kabul and could lead to "appalling consequences" for those who helped the UK trying to flee.

Chief of the UK defence staff Gen Sir Nick Carter has told the BBC "we should hold our nerve" and give the Taliban "the space to form a government and show their credentials".

Gen Sir Nick served in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2013 said he has had regular contact with former Afghan president Hamid Karzai who is due to meet with the political commission of the Taliban later today.

"We may well discover this Taliban is more reasonable," he said.

"But what we have to remember is, it is not a homogeneous organisation," he added.

Gen Sir Nick was asked if the UK's role in the military intervention was worth it.

"Not a day goes by when I don't think about the 457 British servicemen and women who died there," he said.

"I think about the people who were under my command, those who fought there, fought very bravely - and were never defeated tactically on the battlefield. They were utterly professional in everything they did."

"Judging whether it was worth it is a political judgement," he added.

"As a military officer what was needed was a political solution to bring finality and a successful outcome to the campaign.

"That political solution has evolved and is not necessarily the one we hoped for. Let's be patient, let's see how this unfolds."

Home Secretary Priti Patel refuses to put a timescale on how long it would take for the 20,000 Afghan refugees the government has committed to taking to be brought over to the UK on BBC Breakfast.

But she compares the scheme to the one used to relocate Syrians following the civil war there, which saw 20,000 people relocate over a period of seven years.

“We have to be able to bring people over to the UK and resettle them,” she says. “And we know this figure of 5,000 in the first year is absolutely deliverable.

“It would be terrible quite frankly to bring people and not be able to give them the support that they would need in terms of accommodation, resettlement and giving them the opportunity to build a new life in the UK which is what they would basically be doing.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel has been speaking to BBC Breakfast.

She says an "enormous effort" is under way to evacuate people from Afghanistan, across government and also working with international partners.

She says approximately 1,000 people a day are being flown out of Afghanistan by the UK and that she has sent a team from Border Force to help with the operation on the ground.

Patel says the government is still bringing out British nationals as well as Afghan nationals who had supported the UK’s efforts in their country.

As well as the 20,000 refugees the government says it will admit to the UK, the home secretary says it is expanding the programme to resettle Afghans who worked with British forces - with up to 10,000 now being able to be admitted to the UK, up from the 5,000 originally announced.

However she admits the situation is "very challenging" but said "we are working around the clock across government and on the ground".

Image source, UK Parliament

The UK Parliament is being recalled from its summer recess to debate the situation in Afghanistan.

MPs had not been due to return until 6 September, but the decision follows pressure from opposition parties and critics of government policy.

The prime minister will open the debate in the House of Commons at 09:30 BST. The debate will last around five hours but no vote is expected.

The House of Lords, whose members include former defence chiefs and ministers involved in the deployment of British troops in 2001, will also meet at 11:00 BST.

Read more here.