UK MP alleges PM Boris Johnson's hand in airlifting dogs from Afghanistan's Kabul

A senior British MP Chris Bryant accused UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson of "a cover-up" over the evacuation of dogs and cats of an animal charity from Kabul, British media reported on Tuesday. Labour Minister, on Dec 7, produced a ‘letter’ written by Boris Johnson's parliamentary aide secretary Trudy Harrison addressing the ex-UK Marine Pen Farthing who founded the Nowzad animal shelter in Kabul. Pen airlifted 140 dogs and 60 cats during the closing days of Afghanistan evacuations. 

UK government had granted visas for all his staff and their dependents, despite that the UK defense secretary Ben Wallace condemned the move. The latter argued that the animals can wait behind as vulnerable people remained stranded during the final days of evacuation after the Taliban’s political takeover. He also stressed that it distracted from efforts to evacuate British people. Pen founded the Nowzad animal shelter in Kabul after completing his service in the British Army, while he was deployed in Afghanistan in the mid-2000s.

The former Royal Marine conducted a perilous evacuation under an operation known as ‘Ark’ airlifting hundreds of dogs and cats during the fall of Kabul, who was initially unable to leave during frantic mass evacuation last month. The sceptics questioned the support force after Pen arrived on a private charter flight with his Norwegian wife, Kaisa Markhus, and around 170 dogs and kittens and puppies, while many people could barely make it to Kabul airport gate. A Boeing 727 plane was flown via Karachi to Kabul to pick the animals, while his veterinary staff was left behind and later had to be evacuated in another flight. 

UK PM rubbishes claim as 'complete nonsense' 

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s parliamentary aide wrote to Pen’s charity saying all 68 of his staff would be airlifted out of Kabul by the Royal Airforce, and that his cats and dogs will be rescued on a chartered plane. MP Chris Bryant at the end of a session of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, produced the letter, accusing the UK Foreign Office that had repeatedly claimed that there “was no prioritization of animals” during Kabul evacuations. Johnson, meanwhile, rubbished the claims after a Foreign Office whistleblower revealed about his support, calling the narrative “complete nonsense”.

UK's Prime Minister Office had also dismissed such claims in a statement, saying that such information was “entirely untrue” and that at “no point did the prime minister intervene. We’ve always prioritized people over animals, as we’ve said both during and subsequently”.