Politics Live
5:00pm – And that’s all from us today!
Join us tomorrow for more news and updates.
4:10pm – 12,000 have left Afghanistan since April
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has confirmed that: “We have now helped over 12,700 to leave Afghanistan since April, with more due to depart today.”
There are reports that as many as 10,000 are expected to depart in the next week.
3:40pm – Afghan UN staff not being offered evacuation
Afghan UN staff have been told they will not be evacuated from the country, Politico report.
Staff are being urged to co-operate with searches being carried out by Taliban militants and advised to “not be concerned that you are associated with the U.N.”
They are being advised to be “calm and positive”.
2:25pm – Brexit could cause Christmas to be cancelled
Brexit-linked supply chains could “cancel” Christmas according to the boss of supermarket chain Iceland.
Richard Walker, said: “The reason for sounding the alarm now is that we’ve already had one Christmas cancelled at the last minute and I’d hate this one to be problematic as well.”
“We’ve had deliveries cancelled for the first time since the pandemic began, about 30-40 deliveries a day. Things like bread, fast-moving lines, are being cancelled in about 100 stores a day.
“Soft drinks are 50 per cent less in terms of volume, so it is having an affect at shelf.”
1:30pm – Graham: ‘Bad bosses take note’
Speaking after the result was announced, Sharon Graham said: “I am honoured to have been elected by our members, and I understand that the trust that they have placed in me brings with it tremendous responsibility.
“Our members expect their union to be in their corner so I was proud to stand on a manifesto that pledged to put our members and our workplaces first. I will deliver on those promises.
“Unite is an incredible force for good in the UK and Ireland but I am fully aware of the huge challenges our members face in the workplace.
“As general secretary, I will put all the power of our union into defending their jobs, improving their pay and protecting their rights.
“Bad bosses take note. A strong Unite is the best defence that our members can have – my focus now is to build that strength.”
12:30pm – Starmer congratulates Graham on shock success
Reports suggest she was neither his first nor second favourite pick for the job…
Congratulations to @UniteSharon on her election as General Secretary of Unite – the first ever woman to hold that role.
I’m looking forward to working together to improve the lives of working people across the country.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 25, 2021
12:01pm – Sharon Graham elected as new leader of Unite
Sharon Graham has been elected as the new leader of Unite union, the second largest trade union in the UK.
Graham is the first woman to lead Unite, and has promised Labour there will be “no blank cheque”.
Final results were:
- Sharon Graham: 46,696
- Steve Turner: 41,833
- Gerard Coyne: 35,334
11:25am – Labour request another Tory spending probe
Labour have called for a spending probe into the Conservative party to look into the prime minister’s use of a taxpayer-funded jet to travel to the north-east for a campaign visit.
Mr Johnson’s visited Hartlepool in April to campaign for Tory candidate Jill Mortimer. But questions were raised after the Tories recorded “nil” spending on the prime minister’s travel, despite him flying by plane from London to Teesside Airport.
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said the party wants “to get to the bottom of whether any wrongdoing has taken place, including any further dodgy deals involving Conservative Party donors secretly paying off or reimbursing the Conservative Party or the public purse and/or clearing the prime minister’s debts from billing the taxpayer”.
10:40am – Biden: We achieved our objectives
Speaking last night, US president Joe Biden said: “We went to Afghanistan with our allies in 2001 for clear reasons: One, to get Osama bin Laden, and to make sure that Afghanistan was not used again as a base from which to attack the United States or our Allies. We achieved that objective.”
Of course, if the removal of troops from Afghanistan leads to the rebirth of Al-Qaeda, this quote may come back to haunt the president.
The Taliban have already appointed an ex-Guantanamo Bay detainee as the new Afghan government defence minister.
9:30am – ‘The sea was closed’
Dominic Raab rubbishes stories that he was paddle boarding whilst the news about Afghanistan emerged, saying: “There’s stuff about me paddle boarding – nonsense. The sea was actually closed, there was a red notice.”
Take that as you will…
9:00am – UK flies 2,000 out in 24 hours
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab announced that the UK flew out 2,000 people from Kabul in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number so far up to 9,000.
The increase speed in evacuations has come after Joe Biden refused to budge on his withdrawal deadline.
US politicians have been sceptical about the move, with representatives Seth Moulton and Peter Meijer, two veterans who just made a secret trip to Afghanistan, saying that: “It’s obvious that because we started the evacuation so late, that no matter what we do, we won’t get everyone out on time, even by September 11.”
8:30am – Today’s main headlines
- Joe Biden refuses to extend withdrawal deadline
- Covid protection for double jabbed people is waning
- Sharon Graham set to become new Unite general secretary in surprise win
8:15am – Newspaper headlines
- The Times: UK races to save thousands – Britain is scrambling to evacuate 4,000 UK nationals and Afghan citizens out of the country after Joe Biden confirmed he won’t be extending the withdrawal deadline.
- The Guardian: UK troops to leave Kabul within ’24 to 36 hours’ – The Guardian report that potentially thousands of Afghans could be left behind as the UK plans to abandon operations in Afghanistan in the next “24 to 36 hours”
- Metro: Joe’s no to Bojo – The Metro leads on US president Joe Biden’s decision not to extend the withdrawal deadline despite Boris Johnson’s pleas. Some are speculating this is the end of the ‘special relationship’
- Daily Mail: Taliban slam the door shut – Aside from highlighting Joe Biden’s decision, the Mail points out that the Taliban had set out a ‘red line’ over the withdrawal deadline.
8:00am – Welcome back to another day of Politics Live!
