Conservative MP John Baron asked an urgent question in which he stressed to foreign minister Vicky Ford that “there remains around 180 British Council contractors in Afghanistan”, 85 of which the UK has classified at “very high risk”.

Baron highlighted to Ford the issue that the government’s new application service for these individuals will have “no decisions until the middle of August”.

Ford defended the process, telling MPs that contractors need “reasonable time” to register their interest, but said she would “look into the issue about very high risk individuals”.