UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said former Royal Marine Pen Farthing can be flown out of Afghanistan along with his animal sanctuary staff by the RAF – but they must leave animals they care for behind.
However, Mr Wallace promised to “seek a slot” for Mr Farthing’s chartered plane if he arrives with his animals.
But he said that “no one has the right in this humanitarian crisis to jump the queue”.
The charity worker from Devon had feared yesterday that he, his staff and the rescue animals would be left behind enemy lines in Kabul due to an alleged refusal from the Ministry of Defence to be seen to be allowing cats and dogs to escape the country, while hordes of refugees attempt to flee a country that is back in the grips of the Taliban.
Farthing, who served with Plymouth-based 42 Commando and who set the animal welfare charity Nowzad up while living in Exmouth, has chartered a commercial plane after donations flooded in to bring him back to the UK, along with his staff and rescue animals.
He argued that the animals would be stored in the cargo hold of the plane and would not, therefore, be denying a route out of Kabul for people seeking refuge and he also offered to fill spare seats on the flight with those who had been vetted for entry into the UK.
On his Twitter account at 1:33am this morning (Wednesday), Mr Wallace stated that Farthing’s staff had been cleared to fly to the UK under Leave Outside the UK Immigration Rules (LOTR) and that the Ministry of Defence have been authorised to facilitate the processing of the staff’s papers “alongside all other eligible personnel” at Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Kabul.
He also added that “if he (Farthing) arrives with his animals we will seek a slot for his plane”.
Mr Wallace’s full tweet read: “Now that Pen Farthing’s staff have been cleared to come forward under LOTR I have authorised MOD to facilitate their processing alongside all other eligible personnel at HKIA. At that stage, if he arrives with his animals we will seek a slot for his plane. @DefenceHQ ”
“If he does not have his animals with him he and his staff can board an RAF flight. I have been consistent all along, ensuring those most at risk are processed first and that the limiting factor has been flow THROUGH to airside NOT airplane capacity.
“No one has the right in this humanitarian crisis to jump the queue.”
Farthing, whose real first name is Paul, began Nowzad when he was “adopted” by a street dog while serving in Helmand Province 15 years ago.
He set up the shelter to care for abandoned street animals, but believes its future would have been bleak under the Taliban, who made keeping dogs illegal when in government before the Allied military intervention.
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