[Animals] PM’s aide tried to help Pen Farthing’s Kabul animal evacuation

[FazzNoth]

 

Boris Johnson’s parliamentary private secretary contacted a jet hire company in an attempt to secure a plane to evacuate 160 stray cats and dogs from Afghanistan — and allegedly told the company that her “boss” was keen.

Today the prime minister reiterated his denial, describing the claims as “total rhubarb”.

 

He had previously said it was “complete nonsense” to suggest that he intervened to help Pen Farthing, founder of the animal charity Nowzad, secure safe passage out of Kabul in August.

However, Sky News has disclosed that Trudy Harrison, the prime minister’s parliamentary private secretary, contacted a private charter company on August 25, days before the evacuation of Kabul came to an end.

 

An employee at the company told Sky News that Harrison claimed that the prime minister, whom she referred to as “the boss”, was keen to ensure that the animals got out of the country quickly.

Harrison said that she had contacted a “whole raft of people and companies” but insisted that she did so as a constituency MP.

 

She said that she “made clear” that she was Johnson’s parliamentary private secretary to those she spoke to but added: “I had no conversations with the prime minister at any time about encouraging him to authorise or support in any way Pen Farthing and the team.”

Harrison also tried to broker a chartered plane from Virgin Atlantic to fly to Kabul and rescue over 160 stray dogs and cats, leaked emails have revealed.

Internal correspondence from Virgin Atlantic obtained by Sky News suggests that Harrison was helping the rescue mission with government support. She reportedly told senior airline employees approval for the flight would be “fast-tracked”.

 

On August 23, two days before the government gave the green light for Farthing to leave Kabul, an unnamed manager at Virgin Atlantic wrote to another senior figure saying they had been approached by Harrison.

“My local MP, Trudy Harrison, is PPS [parliamentary private secretary] to the PM and has sought my advice this evening on the mechanics of transportation of a Mr Farthing and his Afghanistan-based rescue dogs and cats plus other evacuees from Kabul imminently,” the email says. “She has said relevant permissions would be fast-tracked in government.”

In a second email, the same unnamed manager then writes to Shai Weiss, the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic.

 

“My local MP Trudy Harrison (who is Boris Johnson’s PPS and works at No 10) has enquired of me yesterday evening whether we can provide transportation for Mr Pen Farthing and his rescue animals and others from Kabul . . . She has said the transportation secretary will provide whatever assistance is required,” they said.

“This being a government-backed situation and clearly incredibly sensitive I trust it’s in order to bring it to your attention in case you wish to deal with it personally yourself.”

 

Harrison insisted that she had been acting in her capacity as a constituency MP.

She told Sky News: “I was assisting Pen Farthing and Nowzad as a constituency MP in response to many Copeland constituents’ requests to assist.

“I was contacted directly by over 40 constituents last summer asking for my support for the charity’s staff and animals. As part of my efforts to help them, I reached out to a pilot in my constituency for some advice.”

The leaked emails published yesterday appeared to contradict Boris Johnson’s claim that he did not authorise the evacuation of more than 160 stray cats and dogs from Afghanistan.

 

A Foreign Office whistleblower released emails yesterday suggesting that Johnson personally approved the rescue mission, which is said to have frustrated efforts to save Afghans. In the emails submitted by Raphael Marshall, a former civil servant, to the foreign affairs committee, an official brought up Nowzad while discussing another animal charity that wanted special treatment.

“Equivalent charity Nowzad, run by an ex-Royal Marine, has received a lot of publicity and the PM has just authorised their staff and animals to be evacuated,” wrote the official, who was working in the office of Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park, a Foreign Office and Defra minister.

Later that day the request was forwarded by another civil servant to the office of Dominic Raab, who was foreign secretary, for his approval.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/6b91927e-7f57-11ec-8532-85a58274df7c?shareToken=f18e53063dc606c6575948bfda6b5763