Government email suggests Johnson lied about intervening in Afghanistan to save rescue pets
A newly released email from a Foreign Office official appears to suggest Boris Johnson lied about intervening in the Afghanistan evacuation last year to save a farm of rescue pets.
Johnson said last month that it was “complete nonsense” to say he instructed British armed forces to help rescue pets from Nowzad animal sanctuary, after fresh claims that the animals were given safe passage over local Afghans.
A 25-year-old Foreign Office whistleblower, Raphael Marshall, last month said there was “an instruction from the Prime Minister to use considerable capacity to transport Nowzad’s animals”.
A new email revealed by Westminster’s Foreign Affairs Committee today appears to corroborate Marshall’s story and casts doubt over Johnson’s denials.
The letter, sent from an official in the office of foreign minister Lord Zac Goldsmith, said “the PM has just authorised [Nowzad’s] staff and animals to be evacuated”.
Labour shadow defence secretary John Healey said “the Prime Minister has been caught out lying” and that he “should never have given priority to flying animals out of Afghanistan while Afghans who worked for our armed forces were left behind”.
Responding to the release of the email today, Johnson’s official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister didn’t instruct any officials to take any course of action.
“The defence secretary [Ben Wallace] yesterday made clear that at no stage did the Prime Minister ask him to make way for pets to jump the queue.”
Nowzad owner Penn Farthing and his animals were evacuated through a private charter plane that was paid for through a GoFundMe campaign, however the plane was given clearance by the government to leave Kabul Airport.
It was claimed by some that this may have kept local Afghans from evacuating from Kabul.
Downing Street said last month they “would not characterise granting clearance as distracting from the ability to evacuate”