The SNP has demanded the full recall of the House of Commons from its summer break so MPs can hold Boris Johnson to account over the government’s handling of the Afghan crisis.
I an Blackford MP, the SNP Westminster leader, said that it would be “unacceptable” for parliament to remain in recess for another fortnight, while UK armed forces and personnel were putting their lives on the line at Kabul.
Johnson faced a hostile reception from across a packed House of Commons last week when MPs were recalled for a one-off session to debate the deteriorating situation at Kabul airport.
But the SNP Westminster Leader said it was crucial that government ministers were able to report back on a daily basis and that MPs could properly scrutinise UK government plans for the evacuation, refugee resettlement, and efforts to tackle the humanitarian and security crisis.
Blackford said: “It beggars belief that Westminster is still in recess, when our troops and personnel are putting their lives on the line dealing with one of the biggest foreign policy disasters of modern times.
“Now that the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have returned from their own holidays, it is essential that UK ministers provide daily updates to Parliament and that plans for the evacuation, refugee resettlement, and tackling the humanitarian crisis can be fully scrutinised on an ongoing basis.”
The Commons is not due back from summer recess until September 6, a week after US President Joe Biden’s deadline for ending the US military presence in Afghanistan which would mean an immediate end to the refugee airlift.
Johnson and other European leaders are appealing to the US President at an emergency meeting of the G7 nations on Tuesday to extend the deadline but Biden is unlikely to listen favourably.
Any decision to recall parliament rests with the Commons Speaker and is usually at a request of the government to discuss emergency issues.
Blackford said: “It would be unacceptable for Boris Johnson to keep Parliament on leave until 6th September to avoid scrutiny, when it is essential that Parliament is allowed to get on with its job.”
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