Covid: Vaccine passports 'could be extended to pubs and restaurants' to slow Omicron - Metro.co.uk

Scientific advisors are said to be calling for the measure (Picture: Getty)

Ministers are reportedly considering extending vaccine passports to pubs and restaurants in a bid to tackle Omicron after new data showed boosters are crucial in beating the variant.

Under the government’s Plan B announced this week, people will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative test if they want to go to large events such as nightclubs and concerts.

But according to The Times, the Government’s scientific advisors want to extend the measure to any public place amid surging Covid cases.

A number of new restrictions are said to be under consideration, including requiring people to check in at venues, mandatory face masks in secondary school classrooms and extending vaccine passports to hospitality venues.

The so-called ‘Plan C’ could also see the return of isolation for contacts of all confirmed coronavirus cases – a policy implemented in Scotland yesterday by Nicola Sturgeon.

The First Minister said the UK was facing a ‘tsunami of infections’ as daily cases reached the highest number since January.

What are the new rules for Vaccine passports in England?

Subject to approval by MPs, from Wednesday December 15, people in England will need to use the NHS Covid pass if they want to go to:

• Nightclubs
• Indoor unseated venues with more than 500 people
• Unseated outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people
• Any venue with more than 10,000 people

People who are not fully vaccinated will be able to show proof of a recent negative lateral flow test instead.

One scientific adviser told The Times a return of isolation for contacts and a requirement for a negative test to enter public places would be an effective ‘next step’, adding: ‘There might have to be something else, but it might keep us going to January.’

But Boris Johnson, who is embroiled in a snowballing scandal about Downing Street parties during last winter’s lockdowns, is said to be reluctant for further measures.

There are fears reintroducing the 10-day isolation will lead to the ‘pingdemic’ that brought much of the country to a standstill over summer as hundreds of thousands of people had to self-isolate, leading to food shortages and transport chaos.

The possibility of tougher measures will also infuriate many Conservative backbenchers who already oppose the current ‘Plan B’.

The embattled prime minister is facing the biggest rebellion of his premiership next week over plans for vaccine passports at large events, with more than 60 Tory MPs expected to vote against the new rules.

However, scientists have warned the world faces a ‘pandemic 2.0’ if the threat of Omicron is not taken seriously.

The UK’s Health Security Agency (HSA) said yesterday that Omicron is expected to become the dominant strain in the UK within days and cases could hit one million by the end of the month.

The experts said having two doses of a Covid vaccine offers less defence against infection from the new variant than with Delta, the previous dominant strain.

Dr Susan Hopkins, the UKHSA’s chief medical adviser, said: ‘I think what we’re seeing is that if you’ve had two doses more than three months ago, then it’s not going to prevent you from getting symptomatic disease.’

More: Coronavirus

However, the HSA found that having a third dose prevents about 75% of people from getting any Covid symptoms.

The data has promoted fresh calls for those who are eligible to come forward for their booster.

But with only a third of the population having had a booster jab and infections doubling every two or three days, ministers have indicated more restrictions could come in the mean time.

Cabinet minister Michael Gove warned of a ‘deeply concerning situation’ after holding an emergency Cobra meeting on Friday afternoon to discuss the latest data and the co-ordinated response across the four nations.

He said that ministers had been ‘presented with some very challenging new information,’ adding: ‘Action is absolutely required, and as new data comes in we will consider what action we do require to take in the face of that data’.

Although he didn’t say what measures could come next, sources said the situation was ‘deeply concerning’ and ‘all options are on the table’.

It comes HAS document, leaked to the Guardian, called for ‘stringent action’ on or before December 18 to stop the NHS being overwhelmed with up to 5,000 people being admitted to hospital each day.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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2021-12-11 08:15:00Z
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Boris Johnson: Is 'Planet Boris' finally going to implode? - BBC News

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"Planet Boris is the strangest place in the world - no rules apply," a cabinet minister told me a few days ago as they marvelled at the strangeness of the current political universe.

Events had been disastrous, they admitted, yet they seemed sure at that moment that the prime minister's ability to defy any normal political gravity would see him through.

But then, on Tuesday night, a video emerged showing aides joking about a Downing Street event last Christmas as Britain was in lockdown. The humiliating leak engulfed No 10 in a fresh crisis that shows no sign of easing.

So this weekend it is worth asking if "Planet Boris" might actually, finally implode?

One senior official summed up the state of play simply: "It's a disaster."

Day after day, for more than a month, Downing Street has been struggling to keep hold of events.

There have been miscalculations and missteps - attempts to change the rules to protect one of their own, Owen Paterson; the disastrous efforts to close down stories about Christmas parties last year, and most recently, a fine for the Conservative Party over the financing of Mr and Mrs Johnson's lavish renovation of the No 10 flat.

The mistakes have been all the worse because they were miscalculations of Downing Street's own making. Almost nothing riles MPs and ministers outside the clique at the top of government more than No 10 making mistakes for which they all have to answer.

Each incident fuelled the opposition's main argument they had been making for months - that Mr Johnson behaves as if he's exempt from following the rules.

Whether it's the Christmas parties or the cash for the flat, the mess has highlighted this prime minister's complicated relationship with the truth, which we've discussed here before.

There has been little sense that No 10 has been able to, you might say, take back control. In fact, as pressure has cranked up in recent days it's been hard sometimes to get any sense of what is going on at all.

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[L]ike a theme park of soft decision-making and avoidance

Tory MP on the Downing Street operation

The atmosphere inside is described as deadly silent, horrible, as if the lights are on, but no-one's really home.

Some ministers loyal to Boris Johnson reject the notion that anything is serious or somehow in permanent decline.

It's true that the prime minister's career has been built on proudly dismissing, and dismantling norms. It's also true that he has slipped before, but surged back, time and again. He is the campaigner of his generation, they believe, and can recover.

But it is notable that MPs who were involved in getting Boris Johnson to No 10 say privately, and increasingly colourfully, that he has to sharpen up.

One of them told me that Downing Street has become "like a theme park of soft decision-making and avoidance".

"There's the helter-skelter, there's the lost-in-space ride, there's the final ride which is the 'make a decision and see if you can stick to it by the end of the ride'."

With deep irritation they told me: "They all have to be shut down. We do not need a fairground. Downing Street has to be run like a military camp."

Resignation refused

Others talk of drift and decline. "Nothing important's discussed in our meetings," one says.

At the start of meetings the PM verbally encourages them to contribute, but the implicit message is, "Don't speak up." they feel. Ministers sometimes choose to stay silent. One jokes that they message each other instead about how bad things are.

• EXPLAINER: Which parties are being investigated?
• PROFILE: Who is Allegra Stratton and why did she quit?

After the last few torrid weeks, the trouble, according to one former cabinet minister is that the different Tory tribes, who sometimes can't stand each other, now find themselves able to agree. The problem for Mr Johnson is that the only thing they agree on is how unhappy they are.

According to this analysis, moderates who might see themselves as "internationalists" are grumpy about foreign policy and the government's cuts to foreign aid. The Brexiteer gang are cross that he's not being tough enough about Northern Ireland.

The "red wall" group, with new seats from 2019, know they owe them in large part to Mr Johnson, but they also see themselves as champions of their areas. And some of them don't feel they have much to show for that just yet. Some Northern Tories are said, increasingly, to believe that the PM is "all mouth, no trousers".

And among the right-wing of the party, there's increasing frustration that the government won't take more radical action - changing human rights law, for example - at the Channel to stop migrants crossing in small boats.

These groups shift around of course, but right now they are said to be "coagulating" - instead of spats between each other they are coming together on one thing, that the recent mess can't be allowed to go on.

Many MPs are hopeful it could end up with a new Downing Street operation. One said there needs to be a "clear-out of the 'born to rule' cabal", suggesting that the recent fiascos were inevitable given who has been around the PM.

"Frankly none of us should have been surprised when the grown-ups leave, that the children have an illegal house party," the MP said, adding that the Downing Street party fiasco should be the moment to "clear the sycophants out".

There isn't much sign yet that Mr Johnson is planning a big shake up of his team though. Allegra Stratton, who resigned on Wednesday as a senior government spokeswoman, carried the can for this week's humiliating leaked video footage.

And there's chatter that the prime minister has made a strategic decision to hold on to director of communications Jack Doyle for now, while lining him up to take the fall when the inquiry emerges.

Two sources have told the BBC Mr Doyle's resignation was offered but refused, although No 10 has denied this happened.

But as so often, while the Westminster rumour mill loves almost nothing more than speculating about who is in and who is out, the fairly desperate state of affairs is in the end, always, about the boss. Tone and culture is set by the person at the top, whoever else is up or down.

That's why what's next is, first and foremost, down to the decisions Mr Johnson makes himself. Does he acknowledge there have been problems? Will he resolve to lead in a different way? Will he "[look] in the mirror", as his friend and former minister Robert Buckland urged him publicly to do, and say "surely I can do this better"?

If not, well, Mr Johnson still has his huge majority. He still has enormous powers as the leader of the government, and as the political campaigner and celebrity.

Yet this week it feels sentiment has moved in the Tory party, with more and more of his own side imagining what life might be like under a different leader.

PA Media

Is the moment nearly upon them when he becomes less a flawed, but fundamentally sparkling, asset, than a liability?

A former minister who has analysed the party tribes even suggests "stage one" of a leadership change is complete: when the party agrees among itself privately that the PM is running out of road.

"Stage two", however, is the who next, how and when, and "that can take a very long time".

Right now, it seems far-fetched to imagine any kind of challenge soon. Don't doubt, however, that allies of potential candidates for next time round, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, are thinking hard about what's next.

There are even whispers that some MPs have been urging former cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt to put himself forward soon as a kind of safety, continuity candidate in the new year, even though right now, I'm told, "He doesn't want to play."

Imminent tests

Of course, anyone that's mentioned in connection with the leadership would publicly deny any ambition, or any plotting. Breathless conversations about replacing leaders are rarely far from the topic of conversation in Westminster.

A former minister admits they have been approached about exactly that twice in a matter of days, but cautions that to act any time soon would be "collective political suicide". With the pandemic still raging, the economy pretty fragile, and only two years on from the last election, would the public really want to indulge the Tory party tearing itself apart in public, yet again?

But the volume of discussions about replacements for the prime minister is increasing. Many MPs believe it's down to him to get a grip if that's to fade.

Mr Johnson faces two tests next week, that could deepen the sense of an impending Christmas crisis, or dial down the drama. There's a potentially huge rebellion in the Commons on Tuesday about the Covid regulations. Dozens of his backbenchers have already gone on the record to say they will vote against the plans.

With Labour support, the vote will pass, but a huge Tory vote against would display a real two fingers up to No 10. The whips and Mr Johnson, equally, have a huge opportunity to try to quell the anger in the next few days.

And there's the possibility of a different kind of rebellion next Thursday, when the by-election takes place to replace Owen Paterson as MP for North Shropshire. Many Conservatives fear doom on the ground there. A terrible result in what should be a safe seat would heighten the danger for the PM.

As we head into the last week of Parliament in 2021, there is plenty of peril. The prime minister faces risks all around.

It's madness to write him off - his biography is a living warning against that. Yet, a backer of the prime minister told me that while the situation doesn't have to be terminal, it has - they said with no pleasure - to change.

"If it doesn't, we all know where it leads. It leads to the front door."

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2021-12-11 01:43:15Z
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Covid: Sajid Javid warned 'stringent measures' needed to stop Omicron - Metro.co.uk

Health chiefs have warned that ‘stringent measures’ are needed within days (Picture: Getty)

Ministers have been warned that ‘stringent national measures’ need to be in place by the end of next week to prevent Covid hospitalisations topping last year’s winter peak, it has been reported.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid is said to have been given a presentation by the UK Health and Security Agency on Tuesday warning that the spread of the Omicron variant could overwhelm the NHS with up to 5,000 people being admitted to hospital each day.

Although there are not currently any plans to go beyond the Plan B measures reintroduced this week, Cabinet minister Michael Gove has warned the UK faces a ‘deeply concerning situation’.

UKHSA advice for Mr Javid, leaked to the Guardian, points out that ‘under a range of plausible scenarios, stringent action is needed on or before December 18 if doubling times stay at 2.5 days’.

It warns that even were the doubling time to extend to nearer five days, ‘stringent action is still likely needed in December’.

The advice goes on to say: ‘The rapid spread of Omicron means that action to limit pressures on the health system might have to come earlier than intuition suggests.’

Sajid Javid is said to have received a presentation warning the NHS could be overwhelmed (Picture: Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock)

An additional 448 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant have been reported across the UK, the UKHSA said, bringing the total number to 1,265.

The agency warned on Friday that Omicron is expected to become the dominant strain in the UK in a matter of days.

It said the number of cases will exceed one million by the end of the month if current trends continue.

However, while two doses of the vaccine are much less effective against the new strain when compared with Delta, effectiveness ‘considerably increased’ after a third dose, it added.

After chairing a Cobra meeting with the first ministers of the devolved administrations, Mr Gove warned that evidence suggests Omicron is ‘more likely’ than past Covid-19 variants to ‘potentially’ lead to hospital admissions among the fully vaccinated.

The Cabinet minister said the current measures ‘absolutely’ need to be kept ‘under review’, but that he felt the approach taken was ‘proportionate’.

He added: ‘We recognise the importance of balancing people’s ability to get on with their lives with the need to protect them from this virus.’

The Government’s Plan B measures will be put to a Commons vote next week (Picture: Rex/Shutterstock)

From Friday, in England the legal requirement to wear masks has been extended to more indoor spaces including museums, galleries and community centres.

There will be a return to working from home on Monday, and mandatory Covid passports for large venues from Wednesday, as the Government’s Plan B comes into force.

The new regulations will be put to a debate and vote in the Commons next week – and with Labour’s support they are certain to be approved despite the prospect of a large Conservative revolt.

More: Coronavirus

The tougher restrictions have been branded a ‘necessary evil’ by Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).

He told a Royal Society of Medicine briefing: ‘I think it’s a necessary evil … it’s very damaging for parts of the economy, the hospitality sector, retail sector in particular – they’re going to be affected.’

The Government also said on Friday that a further 120 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.

Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 171,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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2021-12-10 23:08:00Z
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Julian Assange: High Court reverses decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder to the US - Sky News

The High Court has reversed a decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US, where he is wanted for publishing classified documents.

Mr Assange, 50, is wanted in America over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information after WikiLeak's publication of several hundred leaked documents relating to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

US authorities brought a High Court challenge against a January ruling by then-district judge Vanessa Baraitser, who ruled that Mr Assange should not be sent to the US, in which she cited a real and "oppressive" risk of suicide.

Image: Stella Moris, Mr Assange's fiancee, said his team will appeal the ruling

Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett and Lord Justice Holroyde have now ruled in favour of the US.

Responding to the decision, Stella Moris, Mr Assange's fiancee, said: "We will appeal this decision at the earliest possible moment."

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Speaking outside the High Court, a visibly emotional Ms Moris said: "For the past two and a half years, Julian has remained in Belmarsh Prison and, in fact, he has been detained since 7 December 2010 in one form or another.

"For how long can this go on?"

More on Julian Assange

Related Topics:

"How can these courts approve an extradition request under these conditions?" she added. "How can they accept an extradition to the country that plotted to kill Julian? This goes to the fundamentals of press freedom and democracy."

Ms Moris added her finance represents what it "means to live in a free society" and accused the UK of imprisoning journalists "on behalf of a foreign power".

US argued Assange would not face strict measures

The senior judges found that Ms Baraitser had based her decision on the risk of Mr Assange being held in highly restrictive prison conditions if extradited.

However, US authorities later gave assurances that he would not face those strictest measures either pre-trial or post-conviction unless he committed an act in the future that required them.

Lord Burnett said: "That risk is in our judgment excluded by the assurances which are offered. It follows that we are satisfied that, if the assurances had been before the judge, she would have answered the relevant question differently."

James Lewis QC, representing the US, said the district judge based her decision on Mr Assange's "intellectual ability to circumvent suicide preventative measures", and argued Mr Assange's health is well enough for extradition.

Image: Supporters of Julian Assange demonstrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London

Assange's lawyers oppose ruling

Lawyers representing Mr Assange had argued that the assurances over his potential treatment were "meaningless" and "vague".

Mr Assange's legal team have stated they will be seeking to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, and have 14 days to file an application.

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1:08

Julian Assange: A timeline of Wikileaks founder's case

The court also heard that Assange had faced a "menacing, threatening and frightening" situation while under surveillance when he lived at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Mr Assange has been held in Belmarsh Prison since 2019 after he was carried out of the Ecuadorian embassy by police before being arrested for breaching his bail conditions.

He had been living in the embassy since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face sex offence allegations, which he has always denied and were eventually dropped.

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2021-12-10 13:18:45Z
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Top Number 10 adviser addressed staff at Downing Street Christmas party which is now under investigation - Sky News

Boris Johnson's most senior communications adviser addressed staff and handed out awards on the night of the alleged Downing Street party last year during a time of strict COVID restrictions, it is understood.

Jack Doyle, the director of communications in Number 10, thanked staff working there "like he does every week".

Downing Street Christmas parties: How many events are now under investigation and when were they?

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2:24

Probe into three government parties

The political adviser in overall charge of Mr Johnson's communications also gave out "thank you awards" on the night of 18 December, Sky News understands.

ITV News was first to report Mr Doyle was present on the evening in question.

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Mr Doyle has overseen the communications strategy which has seen Number 10 deny for a week that there was a party, after the Daily Mirror first revealed details.

According to sources who have spoken to Sky News, the event on 18 December was a party which took place with around 40 people in attendance.

More on Allegra Stratton

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Following leaked footage of Number 10 aides laughing about an event, Mr Johnson has tasked the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case with investigating what happened and whether they were telling the truth.

Investigation 'exposed as the sham it is'

This latest development puts more pressure on the PM over the party, a saga that has provoked a backlash and caused disquiet within his party.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: "Boris Johnson is unfit to lead our country."

And, speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Sir Keir said Conservative MPs should act and force out Mr Johnson before the next election, currently set for 2024.

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1:21

PM sorry over Xmas 'party' video

"Are they prepared to endure the next two years of increased degradation of themselves and their party, being put out to defend the indefensible and bringing themselves and their party into further disrepute?

"Because this isn't going to change - he's unfit for office, it isn't going to change. Or are they going to do something about it?"

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said the Cabinet Office investigation had already "been exposed as the sham it is".

She said: "The investigation has only just published its terms of reference and we are already seeing more details from the media than the Cabinet Office about the parties."

Speaking at PMQs on Wednesday, the PM apologised and said he was "furious" at the footage, but told MPs he has been "repeatedly assured" no such gathering took place.

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0:42

Leaked Downing Street 'party' video

Allegra Stratton, one of the advisers who was seen in the video joking about a Christmas party, announced her resignation later that day.

The footage, obtained by ITV News, is reported to be of a rehearsal for a TV media briefing from 22 December last year - four days after the alleged Christmas party took place.

Senior Number 10 aides are heard jokingly referring to a "business meeting" and a "cheese and wine" event.

London had been put into Tier 3 restrictions on 16 December 2020, preventing mixing indoors between households.

What events are being looked into?

The cabinet secretary's investigation will look into events on 18 December, as well as gatherings on 27 November and 10 December.

According to reports, the former was a leaving party for a member of staff in Downing Street at which the PM made a speech. This was during the second national lockdown.

The latter was a party held at the Department for Education which was attended by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson.

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1:18

'I will regret those remarks for the rest of my days'

The event was at a time when London was in Tier 2, with indoor mixing banned.

"Credible allegations relating to other gatherings" may also be investigated, according to the terms of reference of Mr Case's investigation that were published on Thursday.

According to Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson's former chief adviser, a party took place in the Downing Street flat on 13 November on the day he left his Number 10 role. Downing Street denies this.

A Conservative spokesperson has confirmed to Sky News that, on 14 December, an "unauthorised social gathering" was held at Conservative Campaign Headquarters, organised by the campaign of the party's London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey.

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2021-12-10 07:10:44Z
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Arthur 'must have had this sense of impending doom' says grandmother - ITV News

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1. Arthur 'must have had this sense of impending doom' says grandmother  ITV News
2. Arthur Labinjo-Hughes: Safety warnings ignored, says grandfather  BBC News
3. Arthur Labinjo-Hughes: Were austerity and lockdown a 'lethal cocktail'?  Sky News
4. Boris Johnson orders 'urgent' review of sentences for killers of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes  Coventry Live
5. What is Arthur’s Law?...  The Sun
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2021-12-07 16:28:20Z
1120944325

Boris Johnson intervened to evacuate animal charity from Kabul, says whistleblower - BBC News

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Boris Johnson instructed the Foreign Office to evacuate an animal charity from Afghanistan, prioritising pets over people and putting soldiers at risk, a whistleblower has claimed.

When Kabul fell to the Taliban earlier this year, thousands attempted to leave the city.

But Raphael Marshall said soldiers were put in danger to help animal charity Nowzad due to the PM's intervention.

Mr Johnson denied intervening, saying: "No, that's complete nonsense."

A No 10 spokesman also said there had been "no instruction from the PM's office" over the charity's evacuation and that the government "prioritised people over animals".

But animal rights campaigner Dominic Dyer insisted the prime minister was involved, telling the BBC he had contacted the PM's wife, Carrie Johnson, to lobby on the issue - saying she would have given him a "hard time about it" - and that he had "forced the prime minister's arm".

He also claimed it was "utter nonsense" that evacuating the animals came before people, saying Nowzad was "caught up in the blame game regarding the disastrous departure".

Ex-marine Pen Farthing, who ran the charity, tweeted that no British soldiers were employed in the charity's evacuation.

But back in August, the Ministry of Defence said UK Armed Forces had helped him and the animals through the airport.

• Farthing tells of joy as rescue workers escape
• Watchdog scrutinises Afghan animal rescue charity
• Whistleblower describes 'chaos' of UK Afghan exit

The charity operated an animal clinic, dog and cat shelter and donkey sanctuary in Afghanistan, training and employing Afghans.

When the Taliban took control of the capital, its supporters launched a vociferous campaign for evacuation, saying staff were in danger due to their work with foreign organisations and the animals were at risk "because the Taliban considers companion animals, particularly dogs, unclean".

Around 15,000 people were airlifted out of the country in August, including Mr Farthing and 150 animals. His staff were left behind, but later made it safely to Pakistan.

In written evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr Marshall said up to 150,000 Afghans who were at risk because of their links to Britain applied to be evacuated and fewer than 5% received any assistance.

Nowzad

Mr Marshall, who was working as a senior desk officer at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) until he resigned in September, said there was "extremely limited capacity" at the airport, with thousands of people waiting outside to try and escape.

But despite the pressure, he said his team "received an instruction from the prime minister to use considerable capacity to transport Nowzad's animals".

The charity had chartered its own plane, but Mr Marshall said the issue was a "limited number of soldiers available to bring eligible people into the airport", adding: "There was therefore no justification for concluding that Nowzad's staff were at significant risk.

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"By contrast many others would inevitably be left behind who were at risk of murder."

He said the Foreign Office team had "eliminated thousands of Afghan friends of the UK at risk of murder from the evacuation lists" because of the lack of capacity, but that space was then used to transport animals, calling it a "direct trade-off".

Mr Marshall added: "I wish the staff of Nowzad all the best in their new life in the UK but they were not eligible for evacuation let alone for exceptional assistance which prioritised them above British Army interpreters.

"I believe that British soldiers were put at risk in order to bring Nowzad's animals into the airport.

"[And the UK government] transported animals which were not at risk of harm at the direct expense of evacuating British nationals and people at risk of imminent murder, including interpreters who had served with the British Army."

But Mr Farthing took to Twitter to claim "not one single British soldier was used to get me or the Nowzad dogs and cats into Kabul airport".

'Severe risk'

Mr Dyer said the campaign to evacuate Nowzad was a "humanitarian operation" as the team was made up of a large number of young women working as vets and nurses, who were "under real threat".

Downing Street has denied any intervention, but the campaigner insisted the PM did get involved and "for the right reasons", saying the problem was not his influence, but that he "wasn't honest about it".

"The prime minister did intervene. He intervened directly with the home secretary to get people on the priority list to evacuate," he told BBC News.

"They weren't on the top of that list, of course they weren't, but we made it very clear they were at severe risk and he accepted that argument.

Mr Dyer also echoed Mr Farthing's remarks that no British soldiers were used to escort the team or animals, bar "one soldier who let him in the gate".

A No 10 spokesman said government assistance for the charity was limited to giving clearance for Mr Farthing's privately funded charter flight.

He said claims Mrs Johnson had assisted the charity were also "untrue", adding: "Neither the PM nor Mrs Johnson was involved."

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2021-12-07 15:45:38Z
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