Afghanistan: Rage of the Commons

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

Institute for Government

News, Politics, Government

4.6 • 252 Ratings

🗓️ 19 August 2021

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The recall of Parliament in the wake of Afghanistan’s catastrophic collapse produced one of the most passionate days the Commons has seen in many years – and a punishing experience for Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab. What will this week mean for Britain in the world and especially the Integrated Defence Review? We look at the fallout in Westminster from an historic week, with special guest Peter Ricketts, the UK’s first National Security Adviser, former Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office and ex-Permanent Representative to NATO. “The raw passion and power was back in the Commons… It showed that the mood of the House can sway with just a few powerful speeches.” – Peter Ricketts “There’s a pretty unedifying spat breaking out between the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence – and that is doing nobody any good.” – Alex Thomas “This was a very sharp reminder that we are a middling power and when the big decisions are made in Washington, we have to go along with it.” – Peter Ricketts “Global Britain was always a slogan without a strategy. And now it’s caught up with the Government.” – Peter Ricketts Presented by Tim Durrant with Alice Lilley and Alex Thomas. Audio production by Alex Rees. Inside Briefing is a Podmasters Production for the IfG See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Inside Briefing, the podcast from the Institute for Government.
0:15.1	My name is Tim Durant. I'm an associate director of the IFG and I'm stepping in at short notice to the presenters' chair.
0:21.3	We're here because yesterday Parliament was recalled for an emergency debate on the situation in Afghanistan,
0:26.4	and we've recalled inside briefing for an emergency podcast discussion.
0:30.6	The Foreign Secretary may have been on a beach as Kabul fell, the IFG team are back at our desks and in the virtual studio
0:36.2	to talk about what this all means
0:37.7	for Westminster and the workings of government. I'm joined by Alex Thomas, who leads our civil
0:42.5	service programme and used to work in the cabinet office. Hi Alex. Hello, Tim. Alice Lilly, our senior
0:47.5	researcher and expert on all things parliamentary is here. Hi Alice. Hi, Tim. And I'm delighted
0:53.1	that we are joined by Peter Ricketts, Lord Ricketts, whose distinguished
0:56.4	diplomatic career includes spells as the UK's first national security advisor, permanent
1:01.0	secretary of the foreign office, and permanent representative to NATO.
1:04.7	Thank you very much for being with us, Peter.
1:07.4	Hi, good to be with you.
1:08.8	There's an awful lot to talk about because things are moving so quickly in Afghanistan.
1:13.7	On Sunday, the Taliban entered the capital, Kabul, about 20 years after the US invaded and overthrew the Taliban.
1:21.1	President Biden is defiant that his decision to withdraw US troops was the right one.
1:25.3	And now, as thousands of Afghans tried to flee the country,
1:28.4	Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab are defending the UK's handling of a rapidly
1:33.4	deteriorating decision which nobody, it seems, predicted. So how are ministers handling this crisis?
1:41.3	What are we learning about the UK's foreign policy priorities and its international
1:44.7	alliances? And as the Taliban take control and thousands of Afghans attempt to flee, what questions
	...

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