According to a report by MPs, the UK’s withdrawal from Afghanistan last year was a “disaster” and a “betrayal”; that will harm the country’s interests for years.

Intelligence, diplomacy, and planning “structural failings,” according to the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Chairman Tom Tugendhat stated that “at a moment when lives were practically being lost”; there had been a failure to lead.

The UK government stated that the withdrawal took “extensive planning.”

A representative for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) defended the withdrawal; and said the committee’s recommendations would be reviewed and responded to.

The inquiry’s cross-party MPs found that “mismanagement” of the evacuation as the Taliban soon grabbed control of the country “certainly cost lives.”

They also expressed their dissatisfaction with Sir Philip Barton, the department’s top civil servant, and encouraged him to reconsider his post.