Afghanistan: Tony Blair says sacrifices were not in vain

British involvement in Afghanistan was not a “hopeless endeavour” despite the Taliban takeover, Tony Blair has said.

The former prime minister said the sacrifice made by UK troops – including those who died – “was not in vain”.

Mr Blair said achievements in the country over the past 20 years – including a generation growing up without Taliban rule – was a “good cause” that “matters today”.

He has criticised the US decision to withdraw its military from the country.

Speaking to broadcasters, the former Labour leader shared concerns, not only for the Afghan people who he said stood to lose out, but also for the security of Western countries.

He said the Taliban “will give protection and succour to Al Qaeda – you’ve got Isis trying to operate in the country at the same time”.

“You look round the world and the only people really cheering this decision are the people hostile to Western interests.”

Mr Blair said the Afghan economy was now three times larger than when the UK invaded the country alongside the US in 2001 and some 200,000 Afghans went to university this year – including 50,000 women.

He earlier said the US withdrawal was “tragic, dangerous, and unnecessary” in an online article, his first statement since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban last week.

And he said the decision was made “in obedience to an imbecilic slogan about ending ‘the forever wars'”.

Mr Blair said Britain had a “moral obligation” to stay in Afghanistan until “all those who need to be are evacuated”.

He wrote on his website: “We must evacuate and give sanctuary to those to whom we have responsibility – those Afghans who helped us and stood by us and have a right to demand we stand by them.”

This should not be done “grudgingly but out of a deep sense of humanity and responsibility”, he added.

On Sunday the Ministry of Defence said seven Afghan civilians had died in the chaotic crowds outside the city’s international airport.

The US has a planned deadline of 31 August for withdrawal – but President Biden has said troops may stay past this date to help with evacuations.

Mr Blair admitted mistakes had been made over Afghanistan, but “the reaction to our mistakes has been, unfortunately, further mistakes”. He said while “imperfect”, the “real gains over the past 20 years” were now likely to be lost.

The withdrawal would have “every jihadist group around the world cheering”, he said.

Russia, China and Iran will take advantage, he added. “Anyone given commitments by Western leaders will understandably regard them as unstable currency.”

President Biden has vowed that “any American who wants to come home, we will get you home”, but has described the evacuation as one of the “most difficult airlifts in history”.

Mr Blair’s intervention comes as shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy has urged her government counterpart Dominic Raab to step up efforts to get British and eligible Afghans to the UK.

She said she had heard of people being beaten, shot at or raped while trying to get documentation in Kabul.

The Foreign Office said it was trying to get people out as fast as possible, with more than 3,000 people having been evacuated from the country since Sunday.

In an article in the Mail on Sunday, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the West’s exit from Afghanistan was “unedifying” and would have “consequences for us all for years to come”.

He praised the British soldiers working at Kabul’s airport for dealing with “unimaginable challenges – public order, overcrowding, searing heat and desperate people”.

“Soldiers trained for war are instead holding babies and co-ordinating crowds,” he wrote.

Mr Wallace said there was “no time to lose” to get people out of the country but added the US would have his complete support if it chose to push back the deadline for leaving.