Boris Johnson directly approved the evacuation of cats and dogs with Pen Farthing’s animal charity from Afghanistan, according to a second government whistleblower.
Josie Stewart – a senior official at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) – said it was “widespread knowledge” that the decision to help Nowzad “came from the prime minister”.
Mr Johnson has denied direct involvement in the evacuation of animals, but Ms Stewart backed up claims made by whistleblower Raphael Marshall – and said emails in her inbox referenced “the PM’s decision on Nowzad”.
Ms Stewart also claimed that statements provided to MPs on the foreign affairs select committee by ministers and senior civil servants had been “misleading”.
She accused Sir Philip Barton, the Foreign Office’s permanent under-secretary, and Nigel Casey, the PM’s special representative for Afghanistan, of having “intentionally lied” to the committee.
The whistleblower said she “cannot fathom” why they would do so but that “they must have done so”, adding: “I have tried to imagine but cannot conceive of any way this could have been an honest mistake.”
Ms Stewart, who said she previously leaked information to a BBC journalist such was her concern about the handling of the Afghan crisis, said she accepted that speaking out would likely mean losing her job.
She said: “I feel a strong sense of moral injury for having been part of something so badly managed and so focused on managing reputational risk and political...
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