“No planes leaving Kabul empty” – UK Defence Secretary

 No plane carrying Britons and refuges from Afghanistan has left empty, the UK defence secretary has said.

Ben Wallace rejected reports that some flights from Kabul contained only a few people, saying the UK was “absolutely ploughing through the numbers”.

He said “every hour counts” and confirmed “the Taliban are letting our people through”.

Mr Wallace said seven to 10 RAF planes were taking off every day, with at least 138 on the next flight out.

A flight landed at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Mr Wallace also said the UK would continue to stay in Afghanistan as long as the US ran Kabul airport, but said the government was investing in “third country hubs” for processing people in the region.

The UK has committed to take in up to 20,000 Afghan refugees over the next few years under a new resettlement scheme – including 5,000 this year.

About 2,000 Afghan former staff and their families have also come to the UK via a separate scheme this year, according to the Home Office, with a target of 5,000 by the end of 2021.

Mr Wallace said a plane left Kabul this morning carrying “115 people and their families – those are the Afghans on there as opposed to other personnel”.

He added: “None of our planes are leaving empty… our planes never leave empty. If we have spaces on them, we offer them up to other nations.”

He said: “We have a full programme today of many more people coming out – trying to reach our… capability towards the end of the month. And that is so far on track.”

The defence secretary said additional UK troops would be deployed to Afghanistan to help manage public order on the ground at Kabul airport.

BBC/Nneka Ukachuikwu