Dominic Raab is in hot water – accused of putting his luxury beach retreat ahead of Afghan lives
Dominic Raab is under increasing pressure to step down as Foreign Secretary after it emerged that he had refused to place a call that could have helped endangered interpreters in Afghanistan.
Raab was 'too busy' on holiday to speak with Afghan foreign minister as Taliban closed in on Kabul https://t.co/ryRL6gpZ8s
— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 19, 2021
That one has cut through pic.twitter.com/avFuW6ynBX
— Liam Thorp (@LiamThorpECHO) August 18, 2021
Such is the level of the outrage, that even that friend of Tories, The Daily Mail, has turned against him.
I know no-one resigns any more, but surely endangering the lives of translators because you’re too busy sipping mojitos is worth a firing? They got Hancock on shagging pic.twitter.com/AHWZNvJqsB
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) August 18, 2021
Raab declined to make the call from his almost-£40,000 luxury break in Crete, despite being told it was vital that the request for help should come from the highest level.
The reactions were – and remain – scathing.
1.
Who wouldn't make a phone call if they were told it could save somebody's life?https://t.co/6AtN224ItS
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 19, 2021
2.
Workers who have been unable to book time off because that week “might be busy”, hang on in there: when you make it to Foreign Secretary you will be free to fuck off to Mojito Beach while Kabul falls.
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) August 19, 2021
3.
Give Dominic Raab a break. How is the poor guy meant to fit anything else in when he already has a packed schedule of sunbathing, getting pissed, abusing waiters and staring menacingly at women?https://t.co/GoZA1tX5WP
— Parody Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson_MP) August 19, 2021
4.
The best line in the Daily Mail Raab story 👇, where you're asked to believe he delegated ringing the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan because he was too busy calling other, more important people.
Hope the Avengers picked up. pic.twitter.com/YKWjcJvuEJ
— Dmitry Grozoubinski (@DmitryOpines) August 19, 2021
5.
Desmond Swayne was annoyed at people who didn’t fight, he must be incandescent with people who couldn’t even be bothered to make a phone call!
Except he isn’t because Raab is white and Tory which means he is immune from living & acting the way these people expect others to live
— Buck Frexit! 🇪🇺💙🌍 #FBPE #FBPA ElectoralReform (@Beany_1) August 19, 2021
6.
Raab should resign. And if he refuses to resign he should be sacked. But that won't happen, of course. If we lived in a political culture which had those standards, he'd never have been given the job of foreign secretary in the first place. https://t.co/Y4HRmKQW8a
— Ian Dunt (@IanDunt) August 19, 2021
7.
Dominic Raab, working hard on the holiday he was advised against taking pic.twitter.com/vv8bhPdo7J
— Toby Earle (@TobyonTV) August 19, 2021
8.
Raab wasn't asked to be the ambassador processing visas at Kabul airport
Raab wasn't asked to be one of the 600 troops deployed to secure the airport
He was asked to make *one phone call* from his sun lounger to help the translators who served our troops – and he refused
— John Stevens (@johnestevens) August 19, 2021
9.
He couldn’t even make one phone call?
Why is he still in the job this morning? https://t.co/XqTiOHze4x
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) August 19, 2021
10.
Maybe he was too busy
At a Jet2 all inclusive buffet, seconds really do count. https://t.co/UiDhh2lxDI— 🥛🇬🇧Michael Govern Ready🇬🇧🥛 (@mikegove12) August 18, 2021
11.
Horrifying view of the fear and chaos in Kabul leaked from Dominc Raab's iCloud account pic.twitter.com/GInX9AjMR6
— HappyToast ★ (@IamHappyToast) August 19, 2021
Jonn Elledge highlighted the enormity of the crisis for the Tories.
It is interesting, from one perspective, that the Mail is calling for Raab to go because of his failure to help refugees.
— Jonn Elledge Self-Parody Account (@JonnElledge) August 19, 2021
There’s a good chance their popularity will only increase by four or five percentage points this week.
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Dominic Raab said nobody saw the Afghan situation coming – 9 scathing reactions
Source Sky News Image Screengrab