Raphael Marshall revealed today, through 39 pages of devastating evidence, the incredible shambles of the Foreign Office following Kabul’s fall to the Taliban.
Thousands of Afghans, desperate for safety and protection, appealed to Britain to fly them to safety.
However, sometimes the junior diplomat was the only one left to handle hundreds and hundreds of emails. Nearly all were pleas for help.
In a detailed written statement to the Commons foreign affairs committee, published today, Mr Marshall – described by the committee as a ‘whistleblower’ – outlines how chronic staffing shortages at the department were compounded by colleagues working from home, refusing to work weekends and sticking to the culture of eight-hour shifts ‘despite the urgency’ of the situation.
A junior diplomat has left the Foreign Office. He also suggested that the emergency evacuation was hindered by decisions made by Dominic Raab (then foreign secretary).
Raphael Marshall, a junior civil servant claims he handled thousands of emails sent by those trying to flee from the Taliban.
Taliban fighters pose for photos in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 19.
SO MANY LEFT BEHIND BEING MURDEREDBY THE TALIBAN
Marshall, who is a 25 year-old graduate from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Whitehall, was appointed to the Special Cases Team.
It was distinct from the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy program that dealt with the cases of Afghans working directly for the UK Government (e.g. translators).
Instead, the Special Cases dealt with the claims of those at risk because of their links with the UK – including Afghan soldiers, politicians, journalists, civil servants, activists, aid workers and judges, as well as guards and others who worked through sub-contractors.
He estimates that between 75,000 to 150,000 persons (including dependents) have applied for evacuation via the Special Cases Team, but concludes that less than five percent ‘have been provided any assistance’.
He said, “It is evident that some people left behind have been killed by the Taliban.
Unread MESSAGES – 5,000
A whistleblower claims that not all emails from the Special Cases Inbox had been read, and around 5,000 were missing at one point during the crisis.
According to him, many people pleading for assistance detailed the ‘grave violations of human rights’ of Taliban including murders and rapes as well as burning down homes.
According to him, although the automated responses were indicating that emails had been “logged”, this is usually false.
The Foreign Affairs Committee met in September to ask Dominic Raab, Britain’s former foreign Secretary, questions regarding the Government’s policy towards Afghanistan.
SINGLE CIVIL SERVANT FOR READING THOUSANDS EMAILS
On the afternoon of Saturday August 21 –halfway through the two-week effort to rescue Afghans from Kabul – Mr Marshall reveals he ‘was the only person monitoring and processing emails in the Afghan Special Cases inbox’.
He added: “No email from Friday early afternoon was read.” Unread email count was in high numbers, which I think is more than 5,000. It keeps increasing.
There were four others who had been given the Special Cases roster but did not show up on shift. I wasn’t originally rostered, but I decided I would be morally responsible to take the job because I realized that there was no team full-time.
It’s possible, however unlikely, that I would have sent the emails to no one.
He continued, “These emails are urgent and desperate.” It was striking to see so many titles with phrases like “Please save my children!”
British Paratroopers desperately tried to maintain contact with him at Kabul airport.
Many people were trying to get away that weekend and crowded the airport.
Afghans sit in a US military plane as they prepare to depart Afghanistan through the Kabul military airport.
Afghans are unable to get to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, August to prove their eligibility to leave the country.
Working from Home and an 8-Hour Culture
Marshall writes that he believes staff shortages were made worse by staff who worked from home. This hampered communication.
“This was sometimes significant when policy was not clearly defined or the situation was unclear.”
According to his belief, nobody was allowed to take the night shift of the team that handled the request for help on the last two days of evacuation.
He said, “Despite the dire situation, it was still expected that FCDO employees would be available for eight hours each day and five days a weeks.”
“Staff only were asked to do the shifts they had volunteered for. Due to these less-popular shifts, there was likely a dearth of evening shifts and little weekend coverage. The FCDO clearly values “work-life harmony” and this is what I think it reflects.
According to him, staff working beyond their hours were ‘often encouraged by colleagues to quit’. Senior leaders also suggested that employees who work more than the designated hours are ‘inefficient’.
A COMPUTER IS SHARED BY EACH SOLDIER
The Foreign Office, London, sent soldiers to process appeals for assistance. This was despite the fact that the department employed more than 17,000 diplomats around the world.
The passwords were never given to them so they had one computer that was shared by eight soldiers for nearly a whole day.
Marshall states that the result was a reduction in their efficiency and speed.
A day after US troops left Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul in August, Taliban forces are seen patrolling a runway.
MISLEADING CLAIMS OVER EMAIL RESPONSES
One week of e-mails was processed. They were marked once they were read and not entered into the Foreign Office’s Database of People requesting to evacuate.
According to the whistleblower, he believes that the purpose of the disclosure was for the Prime Minister and then Foreign Secretary to inform the MPs about the absence of unread email.
Marshall says all messages inbound received an “automatic reply that the request for help had been ‘logged.’
“This is often false.” Emails were often not read in thousands.
BBC CHEFS HAD PRIORITY OVER INTERPRETERS
Marshall claims that the Foreign Office’s “process of selecting Afghan applicants for evacuation was insufficiently credible”.
“Typically, there was not much distinction between applicants who presented a risk to their lives (e.g. death threats), and those who simply spoke of the risk that the Taliban would rise to power.
He added that’some decisions are unlikely to be justified. As an example, I know that the BBC evacuated its Afghan cleaning and cooking staff.
While I do wish them all the best, it’s impossible to understand why interpreters were given priority over others who are at greater risk or have provided greater service to the UK.
A blast at the airport that occurred on August 26 killed 13 people, including children.
LACKING CO-ORDINATION w/ USA
Marshall claims that there were very few or no effective discussions between the Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence and Marshall. One colleague commented that this failure to co-ordinate could threaten the success of the rescue mission.
He also said that there was no coordination with US authorities which may have resulted in duplicate visas.
One official opposed attempts to share evacuation list information, suggesting that it might have violated European data protection laws.
The email that he sent to warn people about possible death was criticized for its’shrillness’.