Sir Keir Starmer has accused senior government figures of being “missing in action” on Afghanistan, alleging that Boris Johnson is “incapable of international leadership, just when we need it most”.
With the Commons returning from its summer recess on Monday, Mr Johnson and his foreign secretary Dominic Raab faced down anger from some MPs over their handling of the crisis, which saw some 15,000 people evacuated from the now Taliban-held country in under a fortnight.
It came as Brexit minister Lord Frost confirmed a further extension of grace periods on border checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea, to “provide space for potential further discussions” over the Northern Ireland Protocol. One government source earlier described the move as “sausage wars on hold”.
Meanwhile, the prime minister faces a Tory revolt over reported plans to fund social care reform by raising National Insurance (NI).
A number of Tory grandees have criticised the plans, with former chancellor Lord Hammond suggesting that such a move would break a commitment in the government’s manifesto and would provoke a “very significant backlash”.
Labour has ruled out his party supporting the proposed increase, arguing that it would unfairly punish young people and low earners.
It came as Downing Street denied rumours suggesting that Mr Johnson was planning to hold a Cabinet reshuffle this week after it was reported that his schedule had been cleared for Thursday.
