UK National Security Adviser dragged into Afghan animal evacuation scandal

Sir Stephen Lovegrove identified as authoriser of animal shelter charity workers’ rescue from Kabul

Pen Farthing holds a rescued puppy in Afghanistan. His animal charity, Nowzad, is at the centre of a row about the evacuation of Kabul during the Taliban takeover last year. Photo: Pen Farthing / TwitShow more

Britain’s National Security Adviser has been dragged into a row over the Nowzad animal shelter workers' evacuation from Afghanistan after civil servants faced angry questioning by MPs

Sir Stephen Lovegrove, not Prime Minister Boris Johnson, gave the order to prioritise the rescue of the animal charity’s staff, the foreign affairs committee heard.

An official mistakenly attributed the decision to Mr Johnson in the controversy, in which Downing Street was accused of putting animals before people as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.

He faced further questions over help given to Nowzad, which lobbied his wife Carrie after a second whistleblower came forward claiming he was behind efforts to fly staff from Kabul.

Mr Johnson has denied that he personally intervened to help members of the organisation to flee the Taliban’s advance last year.

During a heated questioning of top Foreign Office officials on Monday, Sir Philip Barton, the permanent undersecretary, tried to explain the confusion.

Mr Barton said an overnight tweet by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace in August last year said Nowzad staff were being given evacuation priority and a senior official sought confirmation of this from Mr Lovegrove in a phone call.

“Their email said following my meeting with Stephen Lovegrove, [Ministry of Defence] and Home Office, Stephen has now reverted to ask us to call forward Nowzad staff," he said.

"The message did not say who had made the decision, only that it was confirmed and we should implement it."

Mr Barton discussed Foreign Office officials referring to what they thought was a prime ministerial decision in emails.

“In particular, the head of the team dealing with LOTR [leave outside the rules] cases in turn communicated the decision to his team. We know that in doing so he presented that as a decision made by the Prime Minister,” he said.

“This was an assumption he made based on the fact it had come from the National Security Adviser, which was understandable given the many voices in the media at the time claiming that the Prime Minister had made the decision.”

Nigel Casey, the Prime Minister’s special representative for Afghanistan, said he still did not know who had authorised the rescue of staff from Kabul.

“As it turns out, there was a very good reason why none of us could remember that, and that’s because we had not been told at the time and we haven’t been since.”

Mr Casey said he and Mr Barton had answered the committee’s questions “in good faith, to the best of our knowledge at the time”.

But two MPs were incredulous at the accounts of the two civil servants, after Mr Barton claimed he did not know who had authorised the Nowzad decision.

“I find it difficult to believe you,” said Chris Bryant, of the opposition Labour party.

Conservative Alicia Kearns told them: “I think you can see that we’re finding it difficult to believe you.”

Earlier on Monday, whistleblower Josie Stewart said the men had “intentionally lied” to the Commons committee when they defended the Prime Minister.

She said she did not believe there was any deliberate decision “to prioritise animals over people” but that “the decision to approve Nowzad’s Afghan staff under LOTR was not in line with policy, as there was no reason to believe these people should be prioritised under the agreed criteria”.

Mr Barton apologised to MPs in January for “inadvertently” misleading them over the row.

Mr Johnson has denied claims he personally authorised the rescue of the animals in the charity’s care, and described the allegation as “total rhubarb”. The debate continues.