Afghanistan news – live: Biden not ruling out sending more troops to Kabul, as airport death toll hits 20

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the crisis in Afghanistan today.

Former prime minister Tony Blair has criticised the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan as “tragic, dangerous and unnecessary”, warning that the call to leave the country was based on politics rather than military strategy.

Mr Blair has also called on the UK to help evacuate and “give sanctuary to those whom we have responsibility” following the Taliban takeover of the country this month.

Our political correspondent, Ashley Cowburn, has the full story below:

You can also read Tony Blair’s thoughts on the crisis in Afghanistan in his own words below:

Seven people have been killed near Kabul airport as large crowds continue to gather in an attempt to flee Afghanistan, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said.

“Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible,” the department said in a statement.

Our reporter, Tom Batchelor, has more details below on this breaking story:

The UK has said it will offer its “complete support” to the US if Joe Biden decides to extend the deadline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan as the evacuation situation in Kabul worsens.

In what many will read as a plea to Washington, defence secretary Ben Wallace warned that the current US timetable had increased the time pressure on the rescue mission.

“If the US timetable remains, we have no time to lose to get the majority of the people waiting out,” Mr Wallace wrote in the Mail on Sunday.

“Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer, and they will have our complete support if they do.”

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the Operation Pitting evacuation mission is being supported by 1,000 British troops, with nearly 4,000 people repatriated from Afghanistan since 13 August.

In his article, Mr Wallace appeared to recommend that any Afghans left behind once troops exit the country should head for the borders where “processing hubs across the region outside Afghanistan” will be set up for those who Britain has “an obligation to bring to this country”.

US president Joe Biden and Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez have agreed to use two military bases in southern Spain to receive Afghans who have worked for the US government, the Spanish government has said.

In a phone conversation on Saturday, Mr Biden and Mr Sanchez agreed Moron de la Frontera near Seville and Rota near Cadiz could be used for refugees from Afghanistan until their travel to other countries is arranged.

“Pedro Sanchez and Joe Biden agreed the use of the bases of Moron and Rota to host Afghans who worked with the US while in transit to other countries,” the Spanish government said in a statement on Sunday.

A plane carrying 110 Afghan refugees and their families arrived at a Spain-based European Union hub at a military base outside Madrid on Saturday night, including 36 people who had worked for the US administration in Afghanistan.

The base is being used to host Afghan refugees who worked with the European Union and their families who will then move to other EU countries.

Home secretary Priti Patel has vowed to “do right by those who need us most in this darkest of hours” in Afghanistan as the UK pushes the US to extend the deadline for withdrawing troops from the country.

“The UK will not be found wanting. We will do right by those who need us most in this darkest of hours,” Ms Patel said in an article for The Sun.

She wrote that Home Office staff were “working around the clock” to help bring people to safety.

“I am personally working through cases, in constant contact with our committed team on the ground, helping to co-ordinate an international response,” she said.

The UK government has been accused of not moving quickly enough to help people attempting to flee Afghanistan after it said it would take up to 20,000 refugees long-term, with as many as 5,000 in the first year.

Ms Patel told Sky News earlier this week that the UK could not accommodate 20,000 people “all in one go”, but suggested that the scheme could be expanded to allow up to 10,000 people to come to the UK for the first year.

The US needs to answer some “serious questions” over its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, a senior Tory MP has said, following chaotic scenes in Kabul this week.

Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Commons Defence Committee, told Sky News: “If you do want to withdraw from a country, you don’t pull out your military first and then choose to allow civilians to depart.

“This is the wrong order in which we’ve done things and this situation is simply not sustainable… it’s getting worse every single day.

“The airport cannot manage this and eventually, with the terrorist threat now growing, the chances are that the airport will implode.”

You can find his comments in full below:

Pakistan International Airlines has suspended flights from Kabul and is not evacuating anyone from Afghanistan at the moment, according to a spokesperson for the airline.

Abdullah Hafeez Khan told AP on Sunday that the airline had no on-ground arrangements and lacked appropriate facilities at Kabul international airport to operate evacuation flights.

Mr Khan added that the suspension was temporary and the airline would resume its operations once the required arrangements are made there.

The US has issued a warning to its citizens to not travel to Kabul airport without specific instructions due to security concerns.

A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that potential Isis threats against Americans in Afghanistan were forcing the US military to develop new ways to get evacuees to the airport.

Our reporters, Kim Sengupta and Lamiat Sabin, have the full story below: