Afghanistan: Boris Johnson says he has full confidence in Dominic Raab

Boris Johnson says he "absolutely" has full confidence in his foreign secretary amid criticism of his decision not to call Afghan ministers over evacuating translators.

Dominic Raab said he instead prioritised "security" at Kabul airport and "delegated" the call to a junior minister.

But that call did not happen due to the "deteriorating situation", he added.

The foreign secretary has rejected demands from the opposition to resign.

Speaking after a meeting the government's emergency Cobra committee on Afghanistan, the prime minister dismissed suggestions the UK government were uninterested in the issue, stating: "The whole of the government has been working virtually round the clock."

He added that their efforts "are really starting to pay off".

Earlier this week it emerged, in a report by The Daily Mail, that he had been on holiday in Crete last Friday and unavailable to make the phone call to the Afghan foreign minister, as the Taliban advanced towards Kabul, Afghanistan's capital.

Labour's shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said Mr Raab's defence "simply doesn't add up".

"It should have been an absolute priority to speak to the Afghan government and set out the immediate actions necessary to ensure the safe evacuation of Britons and Afghans."