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Parliament was recalled after the rapid fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban. Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, returned from a foreign holiday on Sunday. Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, declared as Kabul fell: ‘We don’t want anybody bilaterally recognising the Taliban.’ But Mr Raab said that Britain recognised states, not governments. Britain sent an extra 300 soldiers to help extract British citizens and people such as interpreters now in danger. Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, wept when he said on the radio that some people for whom Britain had responsibility ‘won’t get back’ from Afghanistan. The government announced what it called a ‘bespoke’ scheme to settle 5,000 Afghans in Britain in the coming year, with another 15,000 in five years. Lily Cole apologised for posting a picture of herself on Instagram in a burka with the caption: ‘Let’s embrace diversity on every level.’
In the seven days up to the beginning of the week, 613 people had died with coronavirus, bringing the total of deaths (within 28 days of testing positive) to 130,894.
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