Carla Lockhart: My plea to Prime Minister Boris Johnson — relay to President Joe Biden your disgust over Afghanistan

Upper Bann DUP MP Carla Lockhart has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to express dismay at events in Afghanistan, and urging the UK government to explore all options to support those in need of help.

Here is her letter:

“The scenes this week we have witnessed in Afghanistan have shocked and saddened many people in my constituency, and as their Member of Parliament I share the sense of dismay at the ease with which the Taliban has seized control.

As I watched events unfold, my thoughts immediately were with the families of two soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan, who resided in my constituency.

Neal Turkington was killed by an Afghan soldier who fired a rocket-propelled grenade into a command centre. He was 26 years old.

Stephen McKee was killed when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Nad Ali district.

He was 27.

These young lives were lost in a war that was fought to stop what we have seen happen this week.

I know many share my dismay at the huge loss of life, the families left heartbroken, the veterans who live to this day with the mental and physical scars of battle, and ask ‘For what?’

As our Prime Minister, I believe it is incumbent on you to express the disgust our nation feels at the irresponsible, arrogant approach of President Biden.

It is also time for serious questions to be asked of the intelligence gathering that has been proven to be so badly mistaken in relation to the capacity of the Taliban to seize power.

If the ‘Worlds Policeman’ is so wrong in terms of its intelligence, then it leaves us all in a state of peril.

Attention must now turn to the humanitarian demands of the Afghan people, and the safety of those who have helped the allies and who now feel a sense of betrayal and vulnerability.

Refuge must be offered to these people. They joined the fight, and we must stand with them now as they stood with us.”

Carla Lockhart MP, Representing Upper Bann

31 High Street, Lurgan, Co Armagh, BT66 8AH

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