Dominic Raab says the UK will use "every hour" left to evacuate people from Afghanistan following the Taliban's rapid takeover of the country.
The foreign secretary declined to rule out British troops having to leave by the end of Friday, August 27.
US President Joe Biden rejected calls from Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other allies to delay his August 31 exit date, citing the heightened security risks to troops.
The move means the clock is running down quickly on the UK evacuation operation at Kabul airport, with British troops expected to have to leave ahead of their American counterparts.
Mr Raab said Britain is working “as fast as we can” to maximise the number of people who can flee, saying 2,000 have been evacuated in the previous 24 hours.
He declined to state when the last British flight will leave Kabul, amid suggestions that the UK operation will have to end as soon as Friday.
“The military planners are working through the limited time they need to draw down their personnel and equipment and so they will firm up those details,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme when asked about that date.
“We will use every hour and day we’ve got to maximise that throughput to get as many of those residual cases out.
“We’re going to keep going for every day and every hour that we’ve got left.”
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