Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has admitted it will be a “challenge” for British nationals left in Afghanistan to now find a route to the UK.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Raab said the number of British nationals who had not been taken as part of the now-ended UK evacuation effort was in the “low hundreds”.
Acknowledging it was “unclear” when the airport in Afghanistan‘s capital Kabul would again be operating – following this weekend’s pullout of US and UK troops – Mr Raab advised those still seeking to leave the country they could find a route to the UK via neighbouring countries.
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The foreign secretary said, since April, more than 17,000 British nationals, Afghans who worked with the UK, and other vulnerable people had been evacuated from the country.
But, of those UK nationals who were still left in Afghanistan, Mr Raab admitted there were “low hundreds” remaining in the country.
“Most of those are difficult cases where it’s not clear around eligibility because they’re undocumented,” he said.
“We’ve now put in place the arrangements with third countries, or we’re putting them in place.
“I’ve spoken to some of the key third countries, so have other ministers, to make sure we can have a workable route through for those outstanding cases.”