A Merseyside MP called out Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab for going on holiday as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.
Parliament has been recalled today for an emergency debate on the worsening situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have very quickly seized control following the withdrawal of US and UK forces.
The UK government has come under sustained criticism for its handling of the situation and its lack of preparedness for the disaster unfolding in the country.
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Yesterday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who was on holiday at a five-star resort in Crete as the Talban seized control of the country and its capital, admitted that the government was 'caught off guard' by the speed of the takeover.
He said that 'in retrospect', he wouldn't have gone on holiday if he knew the 'scale of the Taliban takeover'.
But during today's debate, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was also on holiday as the crisis was unfolding, said: "It is not true to say that the UK Government was unprepared or did not foresee this".
This point was picked up by Wallasey MP Angela Eagle, who said: "He seemed to be making an argument earlier that he had anticipated something similar to what went on by having the rapid force response force ready and waiting.
"Why then were he and the Foreign Secretary on their holidays when this catastrophe happened?"
Mr Johnson did not answer the question, but said the government had been working 'round the clock' to deal with the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan.
He added: "We must deal with the world as it is, accepting what we have achieved and what we have not achieved."
Later in the debate, Labour leader Keir Starmer added his own attack on the Foreign Secretary and his holiday, stating: "'You cannot coordinate an international response from the beach."
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