A Tory MP took more than four days to respond to his constituents' desperate plea for help to save his friend living in Afghanistan and trying to flee the Taliban.
Andrew Waddington contacted his local MP Antony Higginbotham last Monday after learning his friend Abdollah is living under a disguise so he won't be captured.
As the working week came to an end, and Andrew still had not heard back from Mr Higginbotham, he reached out to a number of international organisations.
On Friday he contacted the US group Minority Rights, who responded immediately and put him in touch with the US Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi who is assisting with the evacuation.
Andrew told the Mirror: "I was desperate for help. I'm sat here living a life of luxury while my friend is fighting for his life.
"I didn't get anything back from my local MP Antony Higginbotham. Or the Foreign Office. It's just unbelievable."
Ms Krishnamoorthi's office responded on Friday, "I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. We will do whatever we can to try to help."
Mr Higginbotham responded on Saturday morning saying his office had been busy assisting requests for help in Afghanistan.
The Tory MP said, "apologies for the delay - I've been receiving many of these emails".
Andrew told the Mirror: "It would have been great for him to personally acknowledge the email earlier this week. But I got nothing.
"The Foreign Office didn't even include a number for me to contact them on, in the automated response."
News of Mr Higginbottom's slow response comes days after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been called to resign over his handling of the Afghan crisis.
According to the Sunday Times, Mr Raab was ordered home from his trip in Crete by Downing Street on August 13 but stayed for two more days at his five-star hotel on the Greek island because Boris Johnson told him he could.
Mr Raab was told by officials to make a call to Afghan foreign minister Hanif Amtar about repatriating interpreters who helped allied forces during the war, but the task was delegated to junior minister Lord Goldsmith.
It has since emerged the call was never made.
Abdollah was a lecturer at Kabul University before the Taliban stormed the capital.
He had travelled to the border twice but was turned away because of the sheer number of people desperate to flee the Taliban.
Abdollah was born in Afghanistan but fled with his family to Iran at a young age after his dad was killed by the Taliban in 1991.
He returned to Afghanistan to educate girls at university, but has now had his "dreams and ambitions taken away".
Andrew said: "Abdollah's made attempts to get to the airport. He wore a disguise, with local clothes, so the Taliban wouldn't call him out.
"He told me people are being pulled from their houses every single day, from Government officials to comedians. It’s horrendous."
It comes as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace urges Afghans fleeing the Taliban to make their own way to Kabul airport.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Mr Wallace said "no nation will be able to get everyone out” of the Taliban-controlled country, with the US president’s August 31 target date making the rescue mission even more time pressured.
The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.
This article originally stated it had taken Mr Higginbotham six days to respond to Andrew's query. The MP was in fact contacted on the evening of Monday 16 August and responded on the morning of Saturday 21 August. We apologise for the error.
