Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab appear to be briefing against each other on the foreign secretary’s holiday to Crete.
Journalist Tim Walker pointed out the contradictory lines on Twitter, with one suggesting the PM had given Raab his blessing to stay out on holiday and another saying he had “defied orders” to cut it short.
Raab has faced calls to resign in recent days over his handling of the Afghanistan crisis, with reports in the Daily Mail suggesting Mr Raab did not pick up the phone to other foreign ministers until Sunday, the day the Afghan capital fell to insurgents, as he was on holiday.
The Times reported that witnesses saw the Cabinet minister swimming and using a paddleboard on the last day of his break, which was spent at a beach at a five-star hotel on the Greek island of Crete.
Mr Raab was already in the firing line after it emerged he delegated a call about repatriating Afghan interpreters, while away on August 13, to a junior minister, a decision that resulted in the phone conversation with the Afghan foreign minister not taking place and possibly delaying taking them to safety.
In Walker’s words, Johnson and Raab briefing against each other “beggars belief”.
Just another day in the fiasco that is Number 10 Downing Street.
As Kabul implodes, Johnson and Raab are briefing against each other. This beggars belief. pic.twitter.com/8ZhCv6M12H
— Tim Walker (@ThatTimWalker) August 21, 2021
Related: Flashback: To when foreign secretaries DID resign over diplomatic failures