Opposition Day: Joint Committee to investigate the withdrawal from Afghanistan

Proposed by Lisa Nandy

I beg to move, (1) That it is expedient: (a) that a Joint Committee of Lords and Commons be appointed for the remainder of the current session to consider: (i) Government policy on Afghanistan from the Doha Agreement in February 2020 to the conclusion of Operation Pitting on 27 August 2021; (ii) The… I beg to move, (1) That it is expedient: (a) that a Joint Committee of Lords and Commons be appointed for the remainder of the current session to consider: (i) Government policy on Afghanistan from the Doha Agreement in February 2020 to the conclusion of Operation Pitting on 27 August 2021; (ii) The intelligence assessments made of the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan during this period, the extent to which those assessments were accurate, and the decisions taken by Ministers in response to that intelligence; (iii) The ARAP scheme, including eligibility for the scheme, and policy towards civilian resettlement; (iv) The planning of the Government, including any contingency planning, the crisis management process of the Government, and planning for the availability of Ministers if the situation deteriorated; (b) that the Chair of the Committee shall be a backbench Member of a party represented in Her Majesty’s Government and shall be elected by the House of Commons under arrangements approved by Mr Speaker. (2) That a Select Committee of eight Members be appointed to join with any committee to be appointed by the Lords for this purpose. (3) That the Committee should publish its first report no later than 31 March 2022. (4) That the Committee shall have power: (a) to send for persons, papers and records; (b) to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House; (c) to report from time to time; (d) to appoint specialist advisers; and (e) to adjourn from place to place within the United Kingdom. (5) That the quorum of the Committee shall be three. (6) That, in addition to the Chair elected under paragraph (1)(b) above, the Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament, the Chair of the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy and the Chairs of the Defence Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Home Affairs Committee, the International Development Committee and the International Trade Committee shall be members of the Committee. This has been a painful few weeks. The chaotic end to 20 years in Afghanistan left hundreds of British citizens and thousands of Afghans behind. Two decades of work, the transformation of the economy through landmine clearance, the improvements to healthcare, media freedom and the education of millions of girls are now at risk as the Taliban regime returns. A generation of young Afghans are watching the future they were promised disappear before their eyes. We owe it to them, to the 150,000 brave military personnel, to the families of 457 British soldiers who never made it home and to our diplomats and aid workers who fought for a better future, to tell the truth about what went wrong over the past 18 months and what is still going wrong at the heart of Government, and to do everything in our power to support the people of Afghanistan and secure the safety of British people.

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