Boris Johnson missed the first global meeting of world leaders on the crisis in Afghanistan because he was holidaying in Marbella, it has been reported.
The prime minister delegated responsibilities to Liz Truss as he headed to Spain for a week-long holiday with his wife Carrie, who is pregnant with their second child, and son Wilfred.
They stayed in a £25,000-a-week villa owned by Tory Minister and peer Zac Goldsmith, before flying back on Thursday.
G20 leaders
Johnson missed the ‘Extraordinary Leaders’ Meeting On Afghanistan’ on Tuesday, with US president Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel and Justin Trudeau all on the call.
The leaders discussed refugees, women, plans to keep Kabul airport operational, and urging the Taliban to renounce terrorist groups.
In August, the PM said he will “shift heaven and earth” to get people out of Afghanistan after August 31.
As allied forces drew the operation to a close, he said: “Of course, as we come down to the final hours of the operation there will sadly be people who haven’t got through, people who might qualify.
“What I would say to them is that we will shift heaven and earth to help them get out, we will do whatever we can in the second phase.”
Dominic Raab
It’s not the first time a senior minister has been caught sunning themselves while a crisis has unfolded around them.
This summer, then-foreign secretary Dominic Raab faced heavy criticism for refusing to fly back from his holiday in Crete when the Taliban descended on Kabul.
Shortly afterwards, he was reshuffled out of the role.
No 10 sources would not say why Mr Johnson decided not to attend the Afghanistan call, but said he was working on Government business on his holiday, and that he made calls to world leaders about the upcoming COP26 summit.
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