Joe Biden has defended the US military pullout in Afghanistan, saying that the mass evacuation of refugees would have been “hard and painful no matter when we started”.

The US president said “my heart aches” for the thousands who are stranded outside Kabul airport in desperate scenes, but added that it was “just a fact” that the evacuation would have been difficult no matter how or when it was planned.

Tony Blair is among many who have criticised Mr Biden for the chaos seen in Kabul and across Afghanistan, with the former prime minister saying that the decision to withdraw troops was “imbecilic”.

At a White House news conference, Mr Biden said he had a “basic decision to make” and was “convinced I’m absolutely correct in not sending more men and women to war”.

He said: “If we do not leave Afghanistan now, when do we leave?”

Mr Biden added that he would not like to extend his deadline to stop evacuations from Kabul on 31 August, but that talks were ongoing over this.

Afghans are becoming more desperate as the end of August approaches, with the last civilian flight to leave some time before that.

Ministers are desperate for Mr Biden to keep American forces on the ground beyond that date, with Labour calling for the prime minister to phone the UK ally to extend the exit date.

Boris Johnson confirmed on social media that he will convene G7 leaders, which will include Mr Biden, on Tuesday for “urgent talks” on the situation in the country.

And in a statement, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the group would discuss “continuing our close co-ordination on Afghanistan policy” as well as ongoing evacuation efforts.

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